Technegros

Blingtones Expands Lil Jon Deal, Targets Hip-Hop Crowd

Declaring an end to all "wack ringtones," urban-inspired start-up Blingtones recently expanded its deal with rap star Lil Jon. The company, which delivers original hip-hop tones from top producers, will now offer a Lil Jon-inspired golf game to users of Boost Mobile, Cingular, Sprint, and Nextel. Called "Crunk Golf," the game cleverly juxtaposes the calm demeanor of golf with the outrageous and original style of Lil Jon. That is part of a larger deal that calls for the rapper to produce exclusive ringers for Blingtones. The company also has deals with a lineup of other well-known hip-hop producers, including Q-Tip, Rockwilder, Hi-Tek and Doug E. Fresh.

The Blingtones proposition is an innovative one, and offers a big edge over more traditional mobile content offerings. While consumers can usually find chart-topping snippets from a variety of outlets, Blingtones offers one-of-a-kind jingles that can only be purchased from the company. And in a personality-driven genre like hip-hop, that exclusivity offers unlimited upside. Now, with a stable of proven hitmakers on deck, the company could experience a major ringtone hit akin to the Crazy Frog in the UK. That makes high-profile deals with rappers like Lil Jon a well-calculated risk, and paves the way for a “straight-to-ringtone” smash single.

posted by Sneaker15 @ 7:42 AM