Fans have pushed ringtones
by 50 Cent, Snoop Dog and The Game to record breaking status via Sprint PCS’
Music Tones service.
50 Cent has become the first artist on Sprint’s network
to have two albums reach platinum/gold status, with more than one million Music
Tones being downloaded from his album Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
Tracks from 50 Cent’s latest, The Massacre, have
been downloaded over 500,000 times.
California rappers Snoop Dogg and The Game set records based
on amount of ringtones sold in the short period of time they have been available
on the service.
Snoop Dogg reached gold status on Music Tones with his album
R&G: Rhythm & Gangsta: The Masterpiece, powered by the hit single
“Drop It Like It’s Hot.”
The Game’s The Documentary hit gold, due to the
hit singles “How We Do” and “Hate It or Love It.”
“The fact that these albums have been available for a
relatively short period of time and have had such a rapid rise to platinum and
gold status is proof that mobile music applications are becoming more sophisticated
and more a part of the individual fan’s daily life,” said Rio Caraeff,
General Manager of Universal Music Mobile.
Hip-Hop music has had a significant impact on Sprint’s
bottom line.
To date, 7 of the 12 best selling Music Tones have come from
rappers Lil’ Flip, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Petey Pablo, 50 Cent, Mike Jones
and T.I.
The bestselling
list is rounded out by R&B artists Beyonce, Usher, Ciara and Destiny’s
Child with each artist striking gold or platinum.
