MANILA, Philippines - When technology and art merged in personal gadgetry in the fashion-forward 21st century, it mercifully ended the slew of functional but lackluster cell phones from further invading your purses?and lives.

But in times when new looks and applicable functionalities are a dime a dozen, what more could be novel?

Why not make the cell phone promote music?

Sony Ericsson has introduced just that by naming as its first-ever image model Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova. The 2008 Australian Open champion is a self-admitted music addict.

Sony Ericsson launched the new campaign through its ?Escaping to Music? event in Melbourne, Australia. Top Australian house deejays TV Rock and The Potbelleez, and international deejays Bob Sinclar from France and Big Ali from the US led the music fest.

Through ringtones and sharing music on the go, underground house music that mainstream radio consistently snubs are finally getting the recognition?and fame?they deserve. The exchange is fast and easy; it can spread like wildfire in an instant.

Almost everyone is guilty of illegally downloading music for free. Big Ali said ?nobody physically buys a CD anymore.? And when people actually buy CDs, they source them from cheaper, pirated versions of the original.

While the stats have appalled the music industry in terms of financial losses, where does that leave the proverbial young starving artist? Continue writing music for a song?for the love of, for the sake of.
?I love music; it?s really my life. I?m the first one in the club and the last one to leave,? said Big Ali.

Preloaded music

So when Sony Ericsson launched this year in France its latest line of music phones, it preloaded the phones with music a young, club-going generation could appreciate, such as Bob Sinclar?s pulsating tempo.

?If you want to sell music, you need to have a very strong image. It?s the association with the brand which may be a good way to sell music,? Sinclar said.

And Sony Ericsson?s innovation proved a hit. Expected to sell 75,000 units, the cell phone sold a staggering 150,000 units on its initial release. In less than a month 250,000 units have left the shelves, and 450,000 are expected to be sold at month?s end.

Ringtones play an important role as well, said the Aria multi-awarded group TV Rock, who sold 300,000 ringtones of their hit music ?Flaunt It? in Australia. (Aria is Australia?s equivalent to the Grammy?s.) The credit, they said, goes to music sharing.

A phone rings, for instance, and people like what they hear. Thanks to technology, downloading and sharing music is now user-friendly more than ever. From underground club music, TV Rock?s electrifying message can now be accessed by anyone in the planet.

Composed of deejay-producers Grant Smillie and Ivan Gough, the Melbourne-based duo is one of Australia?s most sought-after dance production outfits.

?Cell phone, like Sony Ericsson?s music phones, is a convenient way of [carrying and promoting music]. If the music is right, everything else follows. Ringtones, I believe, will play a huge part in promoting music in the future,? Smillie said.

House music duo

The Potbelleez, a Sydney-based house music duo, also believes cell phones are the new medium to share music quickly and conveniently. From Dublin, Ireland, Dave Goode and Jonny Sonic lived a mere five-minute walk away from each other in their home country but never really met until they came to Australia.

Fast-rising Potbelleez was among the deejays invited to rock the house during the culmination of Sony Ericsson?s ?Escaping to Music? event?the exclusive, invitation-only spectacle called ?I Love Night Tennis.?
A major sponsor of the Women?s Tennis Association (WTA) for several years now, it was only fitting for Sony Ericsson to end the music experience with a unique light show featuring former ace tennis players such as Aussie Wimbledon champ Pat Cash and Davis Cup winner Wayne Arthurs.

Dubbed as the fusion of sport and electronic culture, night tennis is a two-hour head-to-head UV tennis action with players, specially garbed in neon clothing, playing in pitch-black tennis court with UV as the only source of light.
Balls, net and court and players? sportswear?including shoes?are fully UV-reflective, resulting in an amazing light show of tennis action.

The third of its kind in the world, each game is fired up by explosive break beats by top club deejays. The round-robin action is captured in a 25-meter projection screen amid roars and screaming music, revolutionizing the whole tennis experience.

?The whole thing sounds crazy and I love it,? Cash said. ?I never even thought of playing tennis under UV lights, but when I saw the action from previous events in Madrid and Miami, and the excitement of the crowd, I was hooked.?

And they played to a different crowd, albeit no less tennis fans?the club-goers, the party animals, and the nocturnal creatures who live for the beat. As soon as the winner emerged, in this case Arthurs, the party continued until the break of dawn.

E-mail the author at ajambora@inquirer.com.ph