COLDPLAY CAN SING ON YOUR CELL PHONE RING TONES EVOLVE WITH 'SPEED OF SOUND'.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

Coldplay's new album isn't due out until June, but the band's new single ``Speed of Sound'' can be heard right now - on a cellular telephone.

No need to scan radio stations to hear a new single. Record labels and wireless companies are partnering to release clips of singles as ring tones. But the difference between Coldplay's new ring tone and those sing- songy tunes usually heard on a cell phone is that companies like Cingular Wireless are tapping into master recordings.

That means the song consumers play on a cell phone has the same sound listeners will hear on the radio. And because they are master recordings (not polyphonic or monophonic renditions), everyone responsible for the creation of the song, including the artist, will get paid when someone downloads the tune.

``This is a mutually beneficial program to all partners involved,'' said Art Navarro, a spokesman for Cingular Sounds who was unable to identify how the revenue pie breaks down. ``But the recording industry is definitely interested in tapping into the purchasing power.''

There is a lot more money to go around when the average ring tone costs anywhere from $1.50 to $3 and a digital song retails for 99 cents. Industry analysts estimate that Americans will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on ring tones in the next several years.

Proving such staying power, Billboard began its own ring tone chart last fall. But the chart doesn't track master tones, only polyphonic and monophonic versions, essentially an elevator-music version of the original track. Nielsen Mobile is poised to introduce a master recording ring tone chart this summer.

50 Cent's ``Candy Shop'' ring tone currently occupies the top slot on Billboard's chart. Geoff Mayfield, director of charts and a senior analyst at Billboard, said releasing a single as a ring tone is a natural progression for the industry. ``And the digital ring tone is a baby step toward the phone becoming an important purveyor of entertainment.''

Whether the release of singles as master tones will threaten the release of singles on the radio is up for debate. Don Barrett, Los Angeles radio historian, said instead of a ring tone threatening terrestrial radio, cell phones may simply strip satellite radio of its potential influence. ``The cell phone has become what the transistor radio was for me when I was growing up.''

But Capitol Records views singles and ring tones as completely different revenue streams. Ring tones are more of a public experience, ``a representation of your personality,'' said Ted Mico, vice president of new media at Capitol, who also noted that radio stations didn't take issue with the release of the Coldplay master tone before the single. ``And if you buy a Coldplay single, you may also download the ring tone. One is not better than the other.''

Even so, ring tones are a clever method for record labels to keep young music listeners interested in buying music. ``And who wouldn't want to have the cool new Coldplay song on their phone?'' said Don Gorder, chair of the music business and management department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Ring tones are also a potential revenue savior for record labels that have been embattled by piracy. ``After four years of frowning, they must be smiling. Their bands get all of this exposure. And that happens each time the phone rings,'' Gorder said.

Many cell phones also have the ability to record sounds which can than be used as ring tones. But Navarro said the capability does not jeopardize ``our relationship with the labels nor inhibits future deals.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com