Licensing Expert Joins Ringback Tone Provider from Arvato Mobile

Muzicall, Europe’s premier Ringback Tone (RBT) service provider, has strengthened its fast-growing management team with the addition of Videl Bar-Kar as Head of Licensing.

Bar-Kar, a highly experienced mobile telecoms manager and content licensing expert, joins Muzicall from Arvato Mobile – one of Europe’s leading mobile entertainment platform providers – where he was Head of Content. Bar-Kar has also held senior licensing roles at Buongiorno and Vitaminic, and was previously an artist manager for some of the world’s pre-eminent classical composers and conductors.

Muzicall is a specialist media services provider that enables the monetisation of the sound generated during a telephone call set-up, by replacing the traditional “burr – burr” sound that the caller hears whilst waiting for the call to be answered, with a variety of content, including music or branded audio. Bar-Kar will be responsible for licensing all RBT content, including that used in Muzicall’s newly launched RBT.4.ALL programme.

“Videl has a wealth of experience in both the music and mobile industries, having worked with some of the premier record labels, content owners and operators across Europe,” said Mark Collins, CEO, Muzicall. “Videl brings a tremendous knowledge of the licensing business to Muzicall and will be a great asset as we continue to expand our partnerships with content providers and offer an ever widening array of RBTs to our operator and off-portal partners.”

“Ringback Tones are a huge untapped revenue source for content owners, operators and D2C retailers in Europe,” said Bar-Kar. “Having worked with some of the leading players in ringtones, realtones and full track downloads, I’m looking forward to joining Muzicall to realise the potential of RBTs for the European mobile content market.”

Unlike ringtones, ringback tones are stored in the operator network and not on the phone itself. This means that it’s a service which can work across all handsets and there are no DRM issues. It also means there is a need for a focused services provider to enable all interested parties to gain easy access to this digital media.

About Muzicall
Muzicall is a specialist media Services Provider which enables the monetisation of the sound generated during a telephone call set-up. Muzicall was founded in 2004 out of CH2MHILL. This background not only gives Muzicall a shareholder, but also a worldwide services partner that can deliver the carrier grade systems, solutions and services. The company works on a partnership basis with customers, investing both in marketing and systems. Specialising in Ringback tones, the company uses its knowledge and experience to grow sustainable revenues for its partners.