Nokia 'crowdsources' new Nokia Tune

MANILA, Philippines - Nokia has launched a global “crowdsourcing” campaign to challenge people to get creative and compose their own versions of the iconic Nokia Tune.

Entries can be heard, voted on and submitted at http://nokiatune.audiodraft.com.

The Nokia Tune originates from the composition “Grand Vals” by Spaniard Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) and was first introduced as a ringtone in 1994 with the Nokia 2100 series.

Since its inception, the Nokia Tune has become one of the world’s most frequently played pieces of music and has been the default melody in hundreds of millions of Nokia handsets.

The Nokia Tune is estimated being heard over one billion times a day.

Nokia, together with AudioDraft, a world expert in crowdsourcing audio creation, is looking for a tune that is fresh, expressive, original and creative, yet distinctively Nokia.

Entrants are encouraged to experiment with both old and new Nokia Tunes and can also create their own musical parts, sounds and arrangements.

The tune should be a maximum of 30 seconds in length and the deadline for submission is Oct. 2.

The five most voted or “liked” entries will qualify as finalists. A further five finalists will be selected by the jury who will then ultimately select one winning entry from the 10 finalists.

The jury comprises some of the most respected names in the audio branding industry, including Kai Bronner, one of the founders of Audio Branding Academy; Julian Treasure, known for his TED talks and author of “Sound Business”; and Mark Dewings, head of brand and marketing communications at SoundCloud. Nokia’s own SVP for design, Marko Ahtisaari, is also on the seven-member jury.

The winning tune will be included in select models within the company’s 2012 product portfolio, an estimated 100 million devices.

In addition, the winning tune will be made available on Ovi Store and featured in Nokia’s Brand Book. The winner will also be awarded a prize of $10,000.

The five runner-ups will have their versions of the Nokia Tune available in Ovi Store and will be awarded $1,000 each.