Verizon, Rhino duet on "Songs You Know"

Rhino Entertainment, the Warner Music Group division that serves as caretaker of the corporation's vast content archives, announced availability of its "Songs You Know" catalog of classic-hits ringtones and ringbacks on the Verizon Wireless platform. Spotlighting acts ranging from Chicago soul legend Curtis Mayfield ("Freddie's Dead") to mope-rock pinups The Cure ("Friday I'm in Love"), the partnership also includes full-track downloads available via Verizon's V Cast Music service.

"Millions of wireless subscribers want to customize their phones with songs that speak directly to them--and it's not always today's chart-topping hits they're looking for," Rhino's senior vice president of New Media Strategy David Dorn said in a prepared statement. "With 'Songs You Know,' Verizon Wireless customers can choose from a selection of songs that cross various decades and genres." Rhino previously announced similar content deals with Cingular, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile.

While targeted at previous generations of pop music listeners, the "Songs You Know" package should hold significant appeal for the sought-after 18-to-24-year-old set as well. A recent Los Angeles Times article [1] spotlighting the retro-rock merchandising boom notes Generation Y's embrace of t-shirts bearing the iconic logos of bands like Queen, KISS and the Ramones, while Rolling Stone reports that more than one third of all Led Zeppelin records sold in the last four years were purchased by consumers under the age of 25.

For more on the Rhino/VZW deal:
- read this release [2]

Related story:
- Warner Music, HBO Mobile enter pact [3]