Who pays 4 this shit?

I remember when u could download them 4 free - that's the last time I experimented with them, my cell phone service provider started charging .99 cents per download and I said, "No way!"

Read this:

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Ring-Tone Sales Near $1 Billion
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Ring tones, those ubiquitous, monophonic song recordings programmed into seemingly every teenager's mobile phone, are quietly becoming a money-maker for the music industry.

A new study released Wednesday by London-based Informa Media Group said that authors' collection societies collected $71 million in royalties from ring-tone sales in 2002, up 58 percent from the previous year.

Informa's senior analyst Simon Dyson said the royalties figure -- which is typically 10 percent to 15 percent of the total sales from ring tones -- would suggest that the overall market is over $700 million annually, and quite possibly as high as $1 billion.

The proceeds are divided between operators, labels and the artists.

"This is probably the only upside for the music industry at the moment," said Dyson.

Stung by rampant online piracy and CD-copying, recorded music sales have fallen for two straight years, and industry watchers believe it is in for another drop this year.

Critics blame the big five music giants -- Universal, Sony, Warner, EMI and BMG -- for failing to meet a burgeoning consumer demand to download songs onto portable devices or onto a PC's hard drive.

Ring tones are a different story entirely. They started off as a promotional gimmick, with labels offering up decidedly low-fidelity renditions of new singles to Web sites and mobile phone operators as a way to keep fans humming along to their favorite artists.

Despite the poor sound quality, the practice of customizing one's mobile phone with a favorite song grew with surprising speed.

Now record labels regularly grant rights to mobile operators and Web sites to sell ring tones.

Informa said download costs vary widely by country. For example, Russia's largest mobile phone operator, MTS, charges 30 cents per download, while Vodafone in Australia charges $1.83.

Informa predicts the segment will expand significantly, particularly as more handsets with stereophonic playback hit the market.

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Currently I have "Auld Lang Syne" on my fucking phone, since New Year's Day!!! Haven't changed it yet. What's on urs? Did u use the one they provided or pay 4 the download???





(edited 2 change the title, formally "Ring Tones Sound Like Money")
[This message was edited Wed Jan 15 14:14:39 PST 2003 by June7]

I don't have a ring tone..I just have a regular ring.

Ok, I admit it, I have the theme for Hawaii Five 0 on my phone.

I'm such a dag!

bkw said:

I thought you'd have the theme from cheers!

My phone is a Sony where you can record sound through the speaker and use it as the ring tone. When I went to the Prince concert in London (Hammersmith Apollo) I wanted to record the bit where he went from 1+1+1=3 to Love Rollercoaster. Luckily I pressed record too early and got him saying : "How many of you while you were gettin dressed 2night had people come up to U and say 'Your going to see Prince!'"

I thought that was so funny cos I was in the pub with friends the night b4 and they were all saying 'What R U going 2 C him for. He's short and he don't make music no more?' I showed them, they can be such twats sometimes.

Boob said:

Good idea!

I might try to find that.

"Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
Where they're always glad you came"

I actually quite like that song.

Boob said:

Hahahaha!

I've just downloaded Mmbop on cell phone!!!

jnoel said:

shoulda done Weird

My ringtone is just some music from a videogame I worked on. At least I know I'm the only one with that ringtone

The background pic on my handset is a nice colour symbol.

rdhull said:

Me too... just a regular ring on mine.

I change mine all the time and its 99 cents-$1.99 everytime I download a new one. I'm an annoying sucker, I know.
Currently, it's Rock Lobster by the B-52s.

My wife uses the "Mexican Hat Dance" theme...
I've told her that's ghetto, but she insists

Just a regular ring on mine...

The "Mexican Hat Dance" is ghetto?

Regular ring. When not on ring mode, viiibrrraaattte.

Supernova said:

Ooohh, that tickles.

The first time I put my phone on vibrate I put it in my front jeans pocket. When the thing vibrated I nearly went through the roof!

bkw said:

Keep that one, bkw! That seems like it'd be a great ring!

Ok, I'm gonna allow myself to feel dumb here, but: how does a person download a ring tone?

bkw said:

You bet your barley and yeast it does!

:I: have a choice of "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" or "Just As Long As We're Together" on my fone.

Custom-programmed. It's cheaper and more ppl should do it. It could B a great way 2 learn (remote) music theory!



'dre

No silly songs on my phone, but I'd do it if I found something free & cool, most of 'em SUCK



My welcome note is another story though, lol. Currently it's the same as my signature - how fucking corny!!!

What's your welcome note say??





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[This message was edited Thu Jan 16 1:01:39 PST 2003 by CalhounSq]

Logo: FuBu . . . .DAMN i need 2 change this! if i could find an aussie logo/ring thingo with a i would have it,but its hard enuf 2 get P ringtones!

ringtone: BonJovi *You Give Love A Bad Name* composed myself from a code i found online.

welcome message: Love peace or get the f%$# OUT!

gonna change that in a min i reckon

face: dark purple.

actual fone: Nokia 3350

welcome msg was actually: *these r the Days O' Wild!*
changing it 2 *N P G IN THE MUTHAFUCKIN HOUSE!*

I change mine a lot. At the moment I have a normal ring tone.

A cellular phone should never ring in any other way than a standard phone ringing sound... that other shit makes me want to kill people.

At the moment I've got "By the Way" by Red hot chili peppers, but I've got 3 or 4 George Michael ringing tones, I just dont use them right now.. but yes I paid 4 most of them...

IceNine said:

I think it is practical to want something reasonably unique so you can tell your phone ringer from either people's in a noisy environment.

However I do believe that there is a point in using simple sounds like saw and square waves ... they are very clearly audible in a noisy environment. These handsets with polyphonic ringers (little MIDI tunes) can barely be heard at all.

ian said:

Here is a thought:

"The more unique you try to be, the more you conform to the herd." - IceNine

IceNine said:

It's not about trying to be "individual" it's about being able to hear your fucking phone over the hundreds of generic Nokia ringers you'll hear on a train every day