January 24, 2005
'80s pop star crafts cell phone jingles
Ethan Smith for the WSJ has a very interesting article on how some "post peak rock stars" looking to stay in the music business, are successful writing original ringtones.
Thomas Dolby hasn't had a hit song since 1983, when "She Blinded Me With Science" reached No. 5 on the Billboard singles chart. But the British-born musician still earns his living making music -- writing ditties with titles like "Tropical 2," "Groove" and "Jazzy," to name just a few of Dolby's compositions that have become ringtones for cell phones.
The fad for ringtones based on pop hits is well-known, making the ringers a $2.2 billion business world-wide. But for some artists, including a growing number of current ones, original ringtones are a growth market, too.
In addition to relatively anonymous efforts like those of Dolby, at least one new company is betting that consumers will actually pay for an original ringtone composed by a name-brand artist or producer.
French media and technology company Lagardere SCA recently launched Bling Tones, a U.S. division that signs artists for the purpose of having them write original ringtones.
Until just a few years ago, a musician in Dolby's position -- post-peak rock star looking to stay in the music business -- would likely earn his living writing advertising jingles.
But with more advertising campaigns using familiar hit music instead of jingles, cell phones are the primary market for anonymous, behind-the-scenes musical compositions.
Although ringtones are typically just 30 seconds long, compared with three minutes for the average pop song, Dolby says there are similarities between composing pop songs and ringtones.
"It's helpful if it's catchy," he says of the ringtones. And, he concludes, whether one is writing a pop song or a ringtone, "A hook is a hook is a hook."
He estimates he's written "a couple of hundred" of these generic ringers, for Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Japan's Sony Corp. and Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, among others.
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