Timbaland and the innovation of the phone album
It might not send out as many ripples in the industry as Radiohead’s model did but maybe that’s because super-producer Timbaland has an idea that’s ahead of its time. He plans to put out a song every month through Verizon’s V-Cast service, thus creating a ‘mobile album.’ Pretty smart on the side of Verizon, who already gave away a free (and great) Prince single. Even smarter for T who knows what time it is. Other artists are sure to follow this model and it makes you wonder why they haven’t already. That’s probably because, like R-head, it takes a big name that has big ideas and some chutzpah to put an idea like this across. Outside of the U.S., downloading music for your mobile is common but it has yet to catch on in the States. It will as long as other artists like T take the plunge (and the telecomm companies come up with better rates for sales). It’s just a matter of time…
