Digital ad firm ToneMedia purchased

Bill San Antonio

The Manhasset-based digital advertising company ToneMedia LLC has been purchased by Cellfish LLC, a leading publisher of mobile and social networking applications, the companies announced in a press release Monday.

ToneMedia analyzes consumer music preferences in relation to their buying habits, working with more than 50 publishers to provide more than 120 million music fans worldwide with sophisticated, multi-level engagement across the web and mobile landscapes, the release said.

Cellfish will retain all  ToneMedia staff and continue operations from its New York, Los Angeles and Manhasset offices, the release said.

“Cellfish has built its reputation on publishing innovative mobile and social apps for sports, music and entertainment fans,” Cellfish CEO Fabrice Sergent said in the release. “Our revenues have primarily been generated from selling content, and with the addition of ToneMedia, we gain the scale and content distribution capabilities to monetize through advertising.”

Cellfish is among the leading publishers of mobile and social media applications for music, sports and entertainment fans. 

The acquisition is Cellfish’s third since its founding in 2004, having overtaken mobile application publisher Airborne Mobile in October 2010 and the Facebook concert discovery app Bandisintown in September 2011.

“I’m looking forward to joining Fabrice and the talented Cellfish team,” said ToneMedia Founder and CEO Val Katayev. “By marrying our extensive reach with Cellfish’s publishing expertise across mobile and social, we are excited to create stronger offerings for brands, promoters and advertisers looking to engage their customers in an accountable and meaningful way, leveraging the power of music.”

ToneMedia, which is located at 36 Maple Place, launched in 2012, according to the company’s official Web site, as a result of the success Katayev, 30, had with his previous start-up, ToneFuse, which grew into one of the leading ringtone marketing platforms after its founding in 2009.

Katayev will remain ToneMedia CEO, the release said, and the company will operate as Cellfish’s advertising division. 

ToneMedia was recently ranked as the No. 3 cross-platform music property in the United States and the No. 1 mobile property in music by comScore, which deals in digital measurement and analytics.

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