Vodafone mobile phones get Sony music and video

Vodafone and Sony Music Entertainment have announced an agreement to bring multimedia to mobile phones.

Under the deal, Sony will provide music and visuals from its artists for ring tones, photos and video to be played on phones with Vodafone service. Featured artists include pop/rock acts AC/DC, Jessica Simpson, Anastacia and Incubus.

The content will be available in 15 countries. In addition, the companies will showcase certain artists in just one country, such as Big Brovaz in the UK and Delta Goodrem in Australia.

The news comes on the heels of an IDC report that says games, ring tones and video and music downloads will drive the growth of mobile data traffic in Europe.

Demand for ring tones and games is already strong, but video and music will take longer to catch on, according to the report.

Vodafone is set to report earnings on 25 May. The average earnings estimate (based on eight analysts) is for a profit of $1.63 per share for the current year, compared to earnings per share of $1.07 a year ago.