This is the first deal between a major Western record label and a Russian mobile operator: Warner Music International has licensed songs from its catalog of music by Madonna, Green Day and other artists to Russian mobile carrier VimpelCom Group.
VimpelCom, which operates under the Beeline brand, operates in Russia and the neighboring nations of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia. Initially, however, only VimpelCom mobile customers in Russia will be able to purchase the Warner Music content.
Beeline plans to launch a music portal later this month to sell all kinds of ringtones. As part of the deal, VimpelCom will have a five-month exclusive to sell ringtones, video clips, full-track downloads and other content from Madonna. Initially, Beeline will only offer full-track song downloads from Madonna, not other Warner artists.