Skype ringtones ring out eBay stamp

Stan Beer
Thursday, 27 April 2006 15:49

IT Industry - Strategy

For internet telephony provider Skype, it was only a matter of time before the influence of its new owner, giant online retailer eBay, started to shine through. The announcement that Skype is about to enter the ringtones market smacks of ebay monetising the lucrative cross-selling opportunities presented by Skype's enormous database of nealy 100 million users of its free and paid telephony services.

Skype has signed licensing deals with three major music companies including EMI, Warner/Chappell and Sony/ATV, which will allow Skype users worldwide to download ringtones and eventually full songs of some of the most popular artists in the world. So in future, forget about that horrible 1950s sounding ring when you get a Skype call - listen to Madonna or Green Day instead.