LAS VEGAS, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- If music truly is the universal language, then millions of music hopefuls are sure to be talking about the new Cingular Mobile Music Studio available exclusively on MySpace. Announced today at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2006, Cingular's Mobile Music Studio is a first-of-its-kind platform that offers hundreds of thousands of unsigned artists and bands on MySpace the tools needed to turn their self-produced music into ringtones.

As the leading lifestyle portal and social networking community, MySpace has more than one million bands and artists using the site to connect and engage with fans. Together with InfoSpace Inc. (NASDAQ: INSP), a long-time Cingular partner and a leading provider of mobile content, Cingular's Mobile Music Studio will help these artists generate even more exposure and excitement for their music. The Mobile Music Studio is just one more example of Cingular's leadership in the convergence of wireless and music.

"Music resonates so powerfully with our young customers, which is why we are thrilled to offer them exclusive wireless access to the original tones generated from MySpace artists," said David Garver, executive director, marketing, Cingular Wireless. "The Mobile Music Studio offers incredible exposure for these emerging artists, who already have a MySpace following, by making it possible to have their original music turned into a ringtone and potentially have it played on the wireless handsets of millions of Cingular customers nationwide."

"The discovery of emerging artists by our users and the ability for bands to reach committed fans has always been integral to the MySpace experience. Now, with more than 68 million members and more than one million bands, we are exploring new ways for them to connect. The Mobile Music Studio allows this to happen in a way that seamlessly blends the online and offline experience -- we're thrilled to be part of the program," said Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace.

How the Mobile Music Studio Works

Currently, the Mobile Music Studio is being trialed by approximately 75 unsigned MySpace bands and artists. Through Cingular's Mobile Music Studio, located on a dedicated page on MySpace, these unsigned artists will first be guided through the licensing and production process led by InfoSpace.

"All bands and artists have access to web distribution, especially with communities like MySpace," said Stephen Davis, InfoSpace President of Mobile and Online Media. "What is most significant about this announcement is that Cingular's Mobile Music studio on MySpace provides the natural extension to mobile for some of the best musicians to further showcase their talents."

Once all licensing has been completed, the artists will then be able to upload a short track of their original song, via an audio file, at which time the music content is screened to ensure content is indeed original and appropriate. Upon successful review, the audio file is converted by InfoSpace into a 30-second ringtone. The artists will then be provided a link so their tones can be posted for audio preview and sold on their existing MySpace profile pages. Additionally, Cingular will give these unsigned artists the opportunity to market their ringtone on MySpace. These exclusive ringtones will only be available for download by Cingular customers on Cingular phones.

Mobile Music Studio in Action

The first unsigned band to participate in the Mobile Music Studio trial is Shifter, an up-and-coming rock band from Australia currently breaking in to the U.S. marketplace. Currently using their MySpace profile page to promote their five-song CD, titled "Shifter," the band hopes to extend its fan reach by leveraging Cingular's Mobile Music Studio.

"This is a huge opportunity for us, and we're really excited to be the first MySpace artist actually using Cingular's Mobile Music Studio to create a ringtone of our song, 'Butter,'" said Michael Nason, lead singer of Shifter. "It's just really cool to think about millions of people potentially purchasing and downloading your music as a ringtone. We're always looking for new, creative ways to get more exposure for our music, particularly in the U.S. Releasing a ringtone through Cingular and MySpace is a great way to make this happen."

Digital content from Shifter's self titled debut CD is available now on Boar Records/spinArt Records.

Cingular, MySpace and InfoSpace expect to roll out the Mobile Music Studio nationally later this spring.