Chilling on Wednesday

3GSM Daily MCI News feed
16 February 2006

UK singing sensation and self-confessed gadget fanatic Craig David got delegates off to a musical start on Wednesday by performing his hit Fill Me In and talking at length about the benefits of mobile technology for musicians and their fans.

The early start may not have been in keeping with an international pop star's itinerary but David's enthusiasm for the advancements in mobile recording technology and multimedia initiatives between content providers and operators was clear to the audience.

Not only are his fans able to download his material in a more sophisticated way than was previously possible, he is also able to use mobile for songwriting. "The mobile phone has liberated me in many ways," said David. "I can capture a moment on my phone by taking a picture of say a bullet train in Osaka, and then look back on it to inspire me when I am writing melodies."

It is a far cry from the manner in which he recorded his first hit song, Fill Me In, using the voicemail function on his mobile to record the verse and chorus. Recording the verse first, he then added the chorus seven days later only to find that the system had deleted the earlier message. "I don't think the service provider was feeling the verse," quipped David.

David also welcomed the various initiatives in downloading music. "Mobile media is very important, because my fans are able to edit my songs for downloading rather than just getting a monophonic ringtone. It is amazing how technology has moved on."

David expressed just how far his gadget enthusiasm extended when he told the crowd how he had wired his London house to receive text messages that alter the lights, music and general ambience of the rooms.

"I wanted to have full control. I can send an SMS to my house, saying `chill mode'. It will dim the lights, adjust the LEDs and put on chilled music. I then get a text back saying `the house is chilled'."

David's enthusiasm for all things mobile was welcome news for chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum, Ralph Simon. "Mobile entertainment data services are entering a new phase of creativity, delivery and relevance to the data services groups within telcos. Additionally it is now beyond question that the mobile entertainment future has to take notice of cross-platform thinking and strategies," said Simon.

Tuesday's event had seen a panel discussion, chaired by Simon, between various mobile content providers and operators including Hugh Griffith, head of data at O2 and Keith Yokomoto, CEO of personalised celebrity forum Blogstar, and Simon praised what he termed the "excellent interplay" between the panelists.

"Bundles of content and variable pricing are also issues uppermost in the thought-leaders' minds. There needs to be greater cohesion between telcos and handset makers and major or original content providers," said Simon.