Mobile Music Votes Are In: Multiple Artists Reach 'Platinum' and 'Gold' Status on the Enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network

Mobile Music Votes Are In: Multiple Artists Reach 'Platinum' and 'Gold' Status on the Enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., and NEW ORLEANS, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- CTIA Wireless 2005 -- Sprint (NYSE:FON) and SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT announced today that Usher, one of the hottest R&B music artists and five-time GRAMMY(R) Award winner, has gone "Platinum" on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network, while artists Ciara and two-time GRAMMY winner Destiny's Child are also experiencing growing popularity via mobile and have reached "Gold" status.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001013/SPRINTLOGO )

Sprint PCS Vision(SM) mobile music fans have voted with their more than 1 million Music Tones purchased from Usher's Confessions album, which won the GRAMMY for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Music Tones purchased include chart- toppers "My Boo," GRAMMY winner for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals (with Alicia Keys), and "Burn," GRAMMY nominated for "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance."

Music Tones from Ciara's album Goodies and Destiny Child's album Destiny Fulfilled are resonating very well with customers, evident by their more the 500K Music Tones purchased, including Ciara's "1-2 Step," "Goodies," "Oh" and "Pick up the Phone" and Destiny Child's "Lose My Breath," "Soldier" and "T- Shirt."

Usher joins SONY BMG artist Beyonce with more than 1 million ringers sold, while Ciara and Destiny's Child join Lil Flip and Petey Pablo with more than 500k ringers sold to Sprint PCS Vision customers.

Destiny's Child, a two-time GRAMMY Award winner and recent GRAMMY nominee for R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, is clearly hitting mobile success with songs like "Lose My Breath." Ciara is also seeing her Sprint fan base quickly adopt Music Tones for the personalization of their mobile phone. At this year's Soul Train Awards held in March, Ciara won best R&B/Soul or Rap new artist for her album Goodies.

"The popularity of Music Tones indicates our customers' increasing desire to have their mobile phone represent who they are," said Jeff Hallock, vice president - Product Marketing and Strategy, Sprint. "Sprint was the first carrier and SONY BMG was the first label in the United States to introduce Music Tones in June 2003. Thousands of Music Tones are available for customers to personalize virtually any Sprint PCS Vision-capable phone."

"There's no better way to extend your relationship with an artist than to hear your favorite songs each time your phone rings," commented Thomas Gewecke, Senior Vice President, Digital Business Group, SONY BMG. "We're delighted to be working with Sprint as we help artists such as Usher, Ciara and Destiny's Child to reach a mobile fan base with their music."

According to an IDC report from August 2004 titled "U.S. Wireless Ring Tone 2004-2008 Forecast and Analysis: Customers Go 'Crazy in Love' " by Lewis Ward, "Part of the attraction of ring tones is their sheer simplicity: People just 'get' ring tones as an inexpensive way to personalize their phone - and make a statement about who they are to others in the process. Based on this and other key factors such as the availability and adoption of handsets with advanced audio features, IDC forecasts that in 2008 more than three-quarters of a billion ring tones will be downloaded and that revenue will top $1.4 billion."

Sprint offers thousands of Music Tones, real song ringers, from today's hottest hits like Usher's "My Boo" to yesterday's favorites such as Journey's "Open Arms." Sprint PCS Vision customers can purchase and download ringers directly from their Sprint PCS Vision Phones or at http://www.sprintpcs.com/ . To access ringers on the phone, select Menu/ Downloads/ Ringers and Get New. From there, customers can browse the titles available from Sprint.

Sprint PCS Vision includes services that allow customers to take and receive pictures from select Sprint PCS Phones; browse the Internet at speeds faster than most dial-up connections; check personal and corporate email; watch clips and stream audio for news and music; and download Music Tones and full-color, graphically rich games and screen savers, all on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network.

About Sprint

Sprint offers an extensive range of innovative communication products and solutions, including global IP, wireless, local and multiproduct bundles. A Fortune 100 company with more than $27 billion in annual revenues in 2004, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state- of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network; an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone; and one of the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide wireless networks in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/mr.

About SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is a global recorded music joint venture with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is 50% owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50% owned by Sony Corporation of America.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001013/SPRINTLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Sprint

CONTACT: Jackie Bostick of Sprint, +1-913-794-3045, jackie.a.bostick@mail.sprint.com , or John McKay of SONY BMG, +1-212-833-5520, john.mckay@sonybmg.com

Web site: http://www.sprint.com/

------- Profile: Ent