Song Sharing for Your Cell Phone
The recording industry is hoping to enlist millions of new distributors -- its listeners. EMI and Sony (SNE) are considering services that blend file sharing with viral marketing. Called super-distribution, the technology lets users download digital content to their cell phones and forward it to friends. Have a hip-hop MP3 you like? Send it to your pals, who get to hear it once for free. For a few bucks, they can keep it and share it again. Fans become evangelists, and labels get another bite at the $30 billion digital-music pie. "A friend's recommendation far outweighs an ad," says EMI senior VP Ted Cohen.
