Zingy to Deliver Kanye West, Aaliyah Songs

01/03/2005 1:53 AM, Reuters


Mobile media company Zingy on Monday said it signed deals to deliver voice recordings by Grammy-nominated rapper Kanye West and songs from the late R&B singer Aaliyah to mobile phone users.

Zingy said West, who nabbed 10 Grammy nominations, will provide screensavers, wallpapers, voicemail greetings, voice ringtones and "voice ringback tones," which replace the sound that signals a phone is ringing on the other end.

Zingy will also exclusively distribute previously unreleased Aaliyah mobile content, including her recording of "Ave Maria." It plans to contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, which supports Alzheimer's, AIDS and breast cancer Research.

Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001. Zingy said the deal marks the first time mobile content is being used to generate revenues for a charitable organization and the first time a new Aaliyah song was first released as a ringtone.

Zingy has previously struck content deals with Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Ludacris, D12, Fabolous, Prince, Michelle Branch , Jurassic 5 and other artists.

The retail prices of both the West and Aaliyah content will range from $1.49 to $2.99 per download.

Reuters/VNU