Warner uses Madonna for hard cell

Music label, Sony Ericsson put 'Candy' in phones

By GORDON MASSON

Warner Music Intl. has inked a deal with cell phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson to include content from Madonna's album "Hard Candy" as an incentive for consumers in 27 countries to buy certain models of phones beginning this month. 

Financial details were not disclosed.

Handsets preloaded with the album are being sold in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela.

A download voucher for "Hard Candy" is available in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, while customers in Belgium and the Czech Republic will get the "Hard Candy" CD when they buy a phone.

Phones will also sport extra "Hard Candy" content, such as wallpapers and ringtones.

John Reid, WMI vice chairman and prexy of Warner Music Europe, said: "The evolution of mobile handsets along with technological convergence continues to open up new ways for us to distribute and market our artists' music. Packaging music from a global megastar with new Sony Ericsson phones will help drive sales of music-enabled devices and contribute to the uptake of mobile music."