December 30, 2004
Guitar based hits not favoured for ringtones - untrue?
Since I don't have a comment section, and with Nick Foard's authorization, I'm publishing an interesting e-mail he sent me yesterday related to yesterday's post on an article from The Times Online, stating that ringtones present a challenge to Britain's rock bands. There is not a single guitar-based hit in the year's Top 20. Music critics claim that pop singles such as Britney Spears's Toxic are being created around a simple nagging riff with ringtone sales in mind.
Nick's e-mail:
Hi Emily
Your last story surprised me with the comment about Guitar based hits not
favoured for ringtones. We specialise and sell loads of Guitar based
Realtones. Guitar music isn't really well represented by polyphonic chipsets
as they can't make a real guitar sound. Where as Realtones can. One of our
biggest sellers is the Guitar riff from The Clash Should I Stay or Should I
Go.
The real problem is that lots of Rock or Guitar bands believe themselves to
be above ringtones and so don't allow permission for their music to be used
as Realtones. The artists have the attitude that they just want to make
music and don't want to be too commercial as this would ruin their hardmen
or political image. Where do they think their money comes from, magic money
trees or Commercial Record Sales!?!
Regards
Nick Foard
Managing Director
Hifi Ringtones
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