EMI inks deal with mobile entertainment firm PlayPhone

EMI Music inked a deal with PlayPhone Inc. to allow the mobile entertainment company to distribute ringtones from its catalog. Artist from the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones to Joss Stone, Norah Jones and Coldplay can now be heard in cell phone renditions that PlayPhone customers can customize.

“The team at PlayPhone has the know-how and technology to ensure consumer-friendly download experience,” says Lauren Berkowitz, senior vice president of EMI Music’s newly beefed up digital team.

The deal is just one of several that EMI Music—the New York City-headquartered North American division of the London-based giant—has been forging to reshape itself as a predominantly digital entertainment company.

EMI now has hundreds of agreements with digital partners to distribute music around the world, including its DRM-free offerings to Apple iTunes and Amazon.com. Similar new deals continue even as EMI undergoes major restructuring following the recent $4.9 million takeover by private equity firm Terra Firma. EMI delisted from the London Stock Exchange last month.

Separately, EMI’s new chief executive, Guy Hands, will be hitting New York next week to hold a series of team meetings with the music group’s various label divisions.