Swedish Mopeds

Corbett | May 31, 2005 12:59 PM

A Ring Tone of a Moped Outsells a Hit Song
By THOMAS CRAMPTON International Herald Tribune
Published: May 30, 2005

PARIS, May 29 - A mobile phone ring tone based on an imitation of the sound
of a Swedish moped is expected to become the leading music single in
Britain.

Through Friday, the ring tone "Crazy Frog Axel F," the first tune created
for mobile phones to cross into mainstream music charts, was outselling the
new single of the group Coldplay by about four to one, the Official UK
Charts Company said.

The original sound for the ring tone came from an imitation of the
high-pitched revving of a two-stroke motorcycle recorded by 17-year-old
Daniel Malmedahl in Sweden nearly a decade ago, said Sue Harris, a publicist
for the song.

The single was expected to sell 150,000 copies in the seven days ended
Sunday. In many weeks, 50,000 copies can win the top place on the charts.

The singles chart, begun in 1952, is based on sales at 5,600 retail shops
across Britain.

Sales over the Internet via digital download have been included since April
17, but almost all sales of the "Crazy Frog Axel F" came from retail stores
selling the CD single, said Paul Clifford, operations director of Official
UK Charts, a joint venture of the British Association of Record Dealers and
the British Phonographic Industry.

The story of the song is a tale of Internet collaboration over time and
across international borders among people who have never met.

About five years after Mr. Malmedahl sent an e-mail message containing his
moped MP3 recording to friends, it reached another Swede, Erik Wernquist.

Mr. Wernquist used the noise as a sound track to a cartoon that featured a
blue frog with a goofy grin, motorcycle helmet and leather jacket. Nearly
two years later, the sound was picked up by a company specializing in ring
tones, Jambal, and became their most popular download, known as the "crazy
frog" ring tone.

This year, two German club disc jockeys, Reinhard Raith and Wolfgang Boss,
mixed the noise with "Axel F," the instrumental theme from the 1984 Eddie
Murphy film "Beverly Hills Cop." They released it last week as a CD single.

http://www.axelfrog.com/

Category: Music

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