Ringtonia on xmas break

Ringtonia is making a pause until December 30. Emily is having a well-deserved holiday in Gstaad and i'll be in Berlin until Friday. I'll be online though, so if you have any irresistible story for textually, ringtonia or picturephoning, don't hesitate to write me: reg at we-make-money-not-art dot com. Merry Christmas everyone!

It's 50 Cent Calling. Collect!

This year, enough mobile phone users downloaded musical tones to rack up retail sales of about $602 million in the US, more than double the $277 million racked up in 2004, reports The New York Times

While the structure of a deal for the ringtone of a song can vary widely depending on the label and mobile service carrier, here is how a sale of "Candy Shop" (by 50 Cents, one of the biggest sellers this year) might break down, based on a retail price of $2.50:

CARRIER Provides the customers; transmits the tones on its network; licenses songs from the music companies; and sometimes pays for advertising. A carrier typically receives about $1.12, or 45 percent.

RECORD LABEL Provides the actual song recording. With "Candy Shop," the label must split its share with Dr. Dre and Eminem, who have stakes in 50 Cent's recordings. The parent label receives about $1, or 40 percent of the total, and out of that pays the artist a royalty. At an estimated 18 percent royalty, 50 Cent would receive about 29 cents.

MUSIC PUBLISHER Licenses the composition on behalf of the songwriter. "Candy Shop" was co-written by 50 Cent and the producer Scott Storch. Universal Music Publishing, which administers 50 Cent's songs, and TVT Music Publishing, which handles Mr. Storch's, split the publisher's cut and then pay their writers. The publishers collectively receive about 25 cents, or 10 percent. The writers are each estimated to receive between 9 cents and 11 cents.

PERFORMANCE SOCIETY Collects money for songwriters when their works are played publicly. The one that represents 50 Cent would receive an estimated 3.5 percent of the total, or roughly 9 cents.

Since the most popular ringtones can sell more than 1 million units apiece, a hit single should generate at least enough to pay a couple of months' worth of phone bills.

Crazy Frog makes £40m

The Crazy Frog ringtone has made more than £40 million this year, complains The Times.
It was the year’s best-selling ringtone, taking 31% of the British ringtones market, now worth £133 million.

The ringtone market is now worth more than double the value of CD single sales, excluding internet downloads. Novelty tracks are most popular with the 5 to 15-year-olds who drive the ringtone market. Sweetie Chick’s Tweet Tweet, another animal offering from the company that licensed the Frog, was the year’s second-biggest selling ringtone. Mobile music is expected to generate £4 billion worldwide.

The artists best placed to benefit are those which combine music and visuals. Gorillaz enjoyed two of the year’s best-selling ringtones with Feel Good Inc and Dare in the Mobile Entertainment Forum chart.

Next year record companies will introduce “truetone”, incorporating music and videos, in partnership with mobile companies. Publishers are scouring back catalogues to revive old tracks in a new format. Mark Summerfield, KPMG music and entertainment partner, said: “Predictions indicating that the ringtone market will grow next year by around 7 per cent show the continued importance of this revenue source for artists and record companies.”

The Crazy Frog was downloaded 11 million times across Europe this year, boosted by a £3 million television advertising campaign.

Verizon plans to offer mobile music downloads

Verizon Wireless will introduce a music download service next month that will let subscribers purchase music wirelessly over their mobile phones and transfer songs between their phones and Windows PCs, CNET News.com has learned, announces CNet.

The V Cast Music service would offer songs from artists on major music labels. Verizon expects to offer more than a million songs by spring.

Through a partnership with Microsoft, the V Cast Music service allows customers to transfer music between Windows PCs and mobile phones. Verizon says it's the only wireless services company in the U.S. to offer that feature.

Eminem CD release includes ringtone store

The mobile music campaign created for the release of Eminem's greatest hits CD, "Curtain Call," by Interscope Records and Universal Music Mobile marks the first time UMM has offered digital initiatives such as "gifting" ringtones and launched a global ringtone store for a release, writes DETnews.

The application allows users to send mastertones to a friend by visiting www.eminem.com/mobile or by text messaging a code. The Web site features mobile products such as mastertones, wallpapers and exclusive voicetones.

Gorillaz to make Christmas speech

Cartoon band Gorillaz will deliver their own version of the Queen's speech on Christmas Day via mobile phones, reports BBC News.

The band's animated frontman Murdoc - voiced by Blur's Damon Albarn - will talk about political, social and artistic highs and lows of 2005.. The speech will also be on the Gorillaz website from 1 January.

"We've all had so many ups and down over the last year with toxic vapour clouds, earthquakes, face transplants, floods in Glastonbury and the end of the old Routemaster buses," Murdoc will say. "But it's not all good news. On the bad side, we've had new music from James Blunt - who needs valium? - Westlife, and more films from Harry Potter. So it really does look like we're just one step closer to the apocalypse, eh?"

Bored? Give Coldplay a call

Not related to cell phones. Just file under fun.

Coldplay’s new single is called Talk, so the folks over at Skype.com thought it would be nice if one of you could talk to the band over Skype.

How?

Simply click on the Skype.com Coldplay button to leave a message and your Skype Name. The band will have a listen and whoever leaves them the best or most interesting message will win a call with Coldplay over Skype.

[via TechDigest]

Refunds ordered over Crazy Frog

Hundreds who complained about been ripped off by the Crazy Frog ringtone are entitled to a refund, an official watchdog has ruled. The BBC reports.

The premium rate services regulator, Icstis, said the Crazy Frog ads did not clearly explain the costs involved. It fined service provider mBlox £40,000 ($70'400) and ordered it to refund the 338 people who complained to the watchdog.

Others who ran up huge bills by signing up to the subscription service but did not make a complaint are not eligible."

Related articles:

-- Crazy Frog Cleans Up its Subscription Services

-- Watchdog kicks Crazy Frog ad outside kids' viewing time

-- Probe launched into "Crazy Frog" sales tactics

-- That Crazy Frog: The Dark Side

Hawaiian ringtones anyone?

Hawaiian ringtones anyone? [via Star Bulletin]

Sunday Herald Sun offers free holiday ringtones

This is a first for a newspaper. Australia's Sunday Herald Sun is offering free seasonal ringtones and wallpapers.

"The colour wallpapers, black and white logos, or Good King Wenceslas and Jingle Bell Rock ringtones are usually $4 each.

For more information on how to get your phone festive offer for free, turn to page 15 of IE in your Sunday Herald Sun."

Crazy Frog headed to the big screen?

According to Sky News, that bothersome but brilliantly-marketed “Crazy Frog” – who originated in ringtone form and recently invaded video games and the music charts – is headed to the big screen.

"Producers are already courting some rather large-ish names into supplying voices for the film – including Oasis muso Liam Gallagher, whose apparently got a woody for the ringtone king." [via Moviehole].

That made my day. But not everyone feels the way I do. Check out Crazy Dead Frog. Horrors.

Apple axes 'iRingTones' project

Apple has canned a ringtone software project that was guaranteed to prove controversial, just weeks ahead of its slated announcement at MacWorld Expo next month, reports The Register in an exclusive.

"The project would have seen Apple move into the ringtone retail business in direct confrontation with cellular carriers, with whom Apple already has a stormy relationship.

"iRingTones", as The Register calls it, integrated ringtone downloads into the iTunes Music Store, and would have allowed users to remix ringtones before beaming them to the phone via Bluetooth.

... It's unclear whether cellular carriers were directly responsible for bringing pressure to bear on Apple, but what's in no doubt is that ringtone revenues form a significant part of the carrier revenues."

James Pearce on MocoNews doubts Steve Jobs backed away. "But maybe an incipient launch of a wireless iPod is making him rethink the situation.
Of course, if Apple was pressured into abandoning the service rather than giving it up voluntarily it’s equally as likely that the labels had something to do with it", writes Pearce.

EMI launches mobile music portal

Record label EMI ids using mobile software firm Bango's 'browse and buy' technology to power is its UK mobile music portal. Netimperative reports.

"Mobile users can visit wap.the-raft.com or text 'GO RAFT' to 85080 (free text from all UK networks) to browse a range of official, artist approved content tailored for mobile.

Users anywhere in the world pay for EMI music and ringtones on their phone bill, by credit/debit card or by PayPal.

The site will be promoted via the music community website www.the-raft.com, by mailshot to over 300,000 subscribers, to The Raft online and by search and banner advertising."

Nokia Releases Patch for N70 Ringtone Issues

Darla mack reports on a patch being issued by Nokia for the N70. Sometimes the user can't chose his own ringtone and the phone might not ring or vibrate when a call is received. This is the first time I've ever read of a patch to fix a ringtone problem.

howard forums

Digital music store set to create waves

Move over iTunes Music Store! a new independent online music store has began its operation by offering new songs from local performers, including some of the more obscure acts from India's remotest regions. From The Jakarta Post.

"The online music store IM:port, which stands for Independent Music Portal, began its operation on Nov. 25, offering over 1,000 copy protected tunes for customers to download. Each song is priced at Rp 5,000 (50 US cents), slightly cheaper than the 79 US cents offered by Apple's iTunes.

But unlike music from iTunes which can be played on an iPod, songs from IM:port are only playable on cellular phones, after customers download them from an online store or vending machine.

One vending machine provides -- similar to those available at every mall in the city which sell ringtones or wallpaper for bored cell phone users -- a screen from which customers can choose songs. With a blue tooth connection, cell phone users can download songs from the vending machine.

Songs can also be downloaded using a short message service (SMS) to IM:port number and buyers will be given a code to play the selected songs. The cost for downloading the song will be automatically deducted from the buyer's credit.

Songs cannot be downloaded directly to a personal computer, as such a method would encourage piracy."

Personalized Xmas Ringtone Carols

Miyow (the developers of Lyricize have launched a new service in time for the festive season - ChristmasNametones, reports MocoNews.

"Based on the same concept of personalizing a songtone the ChristmasNametones service lets you personalize the song “12 Days of Christmas” with someones name (the 2,000 most common english names are available) and different lyrics that are either naughty, funny, romantic or the classic lyrics.

Ao far the service is sold in the UK by Orange (via aggregator ArenaMobile), MediaPlazza, MobileMedia (for the Asia/Pacific region) and RedCircle via print ads in UK magazines."

If you want to have a look on the web, Singaname.com has the same function and lets you preview the song before you buy, so you can check it out. Sing a Name gives everyone the chance to send a personalized Christmas carol, instead of the same old Christmas card.

Ringtones, or the auditory logic of globalization

This incredibly thorough essay by Sumantha Gopinath - Assistant Professor of Music Theory in the University of Minnesota School of Music - published on First Monday "attempts to provide a description of the global ringtone industry, to determine and assess the numerous cultural consequences of the ringtone’s appearance and development, and to situate the ringtone within the context of contemporary capitalism." The essay also covers the history of the ringtone, how it's evolving, world sales, what it's like to be a ringtone composers and who's entitled to copyright revenue.

Some random highlights:

-- Ringtones are central to the contemporary sonic imaginary and are in several ways indicative of the transformations in capitalism taking place in the wake of the Third Industrial (or digital) Revolution.

-- The work of composing ringtones is not particularly glamorous: it is, in a sense, an updated form of writing jingles or advertising music whose product is mobile telephony itself.

-- In a survey of a hundred professionals with cell–phones by the British PR agency Burston–Marsteller, 18 percent of respondents found the worst cell phone etiquette offense to be playing through all of your cellphone ringtones while sitting on the train.

-- In many cases ringtone sales are outpacing recording single sales of the same song...

Real launches browser-based music service in UK

Digital media firm Real Networks has launched an online music service that lets subscribers browse and download a range of music and entertainment content, including radio, music videos, downloads, ringtones and user-generated content. [viaNetimperative]

"Debuting in the UK, the RealMusic service is browser-based, unlike other music stores like Napster and iTunes which require special software downloads."

Hard-Fi give fans live treat

Hard-Fi are giving fans an exclusive treat on their current UK tour, reports NME.

"The band, who are currently in the midst of a string of shows all over the country, are giving concert-goers the chance to download a live version of new single 'Cash Machine' from each night of the trek.

Fans can pre-order their exclusive live version by texting a unique code to 81330.

Download purchases cost £1.50 ($2.65) plus standard operator SMS charge. The versions will also be made available to download from www.hard-fi.com from December 26.

The Tampax ringtone

P&G giving away a ringtone to promote its Tampax brand, reports Adverblog.

"According to New Media Age (sub. req., Tampax is running an on-pack promotion driving girls to this website where they can create their own personalized ringtones and share them with other site visitors.

To send your personalised ringtone to your mobile you'll need a unique code found on promotional packs of Tampax Compak."

To be honest, this does not appeal to me as a woman. The music is not pretty or familiar and making your own ringtone is too geeky. Can you imagine someone asking you where you got that ringtone? and actually having to answer, "from tampax".

A mood approach would have been more clever. Ringtones to relieve the blues that often are part of this medieval deal that comes with womanhood. Anyway, that's my two cents worth.

BET promotes ringtone sales with videdo pop-ups

BET has begun embedding text-messaging codes into its music videos, encouraging viewers to order a download of each song's ringtone directly from their mobile phone, reports Reuters/Billboard.

"While such cross-marketing is a common practice in Europe, this is the first time a U.S. video channel has integrated mobile messaging on air to sell ringtones.

According to BET CFO Scott Wills, about 50 percent of the music videos the network airs now contain a 10- to 30-second pop-up note that prompts viewers to "get this ringtone" by sending a text message to the short code "BETTV."

Each prompt features a different product code that must be included in the message to identify the desired ringtone. "

Free Holiday Ringtones

In the spirit of giving, and just like last year, Unwired Appeal are offering free Christmas Ringtones.

Pick your favorite!

1st Noel / Angels Watch / Chestnuts / Deck the Halls / Frosty the Snowman / Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer / Hark the Harold Angels / Happy Jolly Christmas / Jingle Bells / Joy to the World / Let in Snow / Merry Little Christmas / The Nutcracker/ The Nutcracker March / The Nutcracker Part 1 / Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer / Sleigh / Oh Christmas Tree.

Ring4Freedom Gets Rid of Unwanted People

Ring4Freedom is a web-based service that rings your cell phone or landline phone anytime you want, allowing you to escape from unwanted conversationalists. [via Strange New Products]

Have you ever been trapped in a conversation with an annoying person and prayed that your phone would ring to give you "an out"? Well, Ring4Freedom has answered your prayers!

Ring4Freedom is software that will ring your cell or desk phone at your command. Simply press the hotkey and your phone will ring instantly. Download Ring4Freedom now and say "hello" to the person calling you and "gotta roll" to annyoing colleagues, boring meetings, and uncomfortable conversations.

Related:

-- Dialling your way out of dates from hell - In Australia, Virgin Mobile's "SOS RING" will enable customers to discreetly dial 767 - or SOS - from dating hell.

-- Rescue Rings - Giving whole new meaning to "saved by the bell", Virgin Mobile USA offers it's subscribers the option to set up a "Rescue Ring to" escape any situation. They only need to schedule a time when they want to receive a call.

The Ringtone Revenge

Over here at Ringtonia we are CF fans, but we feel it's our duty to report that not everyone feels the way we do about dearest Crazy Frog. See for yourself: The Ringtone Revenge

Mobile Mistletoe

From the company who brought us DisTomes, (ringtones for people you hate) comes Mobile Mistletoe.

From December 1 through December 31, customers of Cingular, T-Mobile and Sprint can download Mistletoe wallpaper from Modtones.com, so they can take it along for unlimited kissing. How? By holding the phone over your head or over the head of the person you wish to kiss.

Over 60 Holiday ringtones are available too, such as The Chipmunk Christmas Song, Run DMC, and Larry the Cable Guy, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,,,,

Orange UK launches Calling Tunes

Pocket-lint reports that Orange UK has launched ringback tones on Friday, or Calling Tunes.

"Calling Tunes will let users choose music to play to callers while they’re waiting for you to answer your phone. Orange customers can order Calling Tunes as of Friday by visiting the Orange World mobile portal or by calling 477 on any Orange mobile.

According to Orange, Hundreds of music tracks are available to choose from with more added every week ranging from the latest chart hits to film, TV and sports themes."

Musicians compose original works for cellphones

A new generation of songwriters sees the mobile phone as an emerging medium for artistic expression, and they are composing original material exclusively for cellphones: the ringtone for ringtone's sake. Fortune reports via Moco News.

"When you're writing a ringtone, you have about 20 seconds to convey a message of love, heartbreak, or hope—or at least come up with an infectious hook. "With ringtones, it has to be memorable," composer Disco D, O'Loughlin says. "And it's got to have a little bite to it."

Ringtones are a shockingly lucrative business, generating more than $2 billion in annual worldwide revenues for the record labels that license their tunes and the retailers and phone companies that sell the tones for about $2 a pop. Everywhere you look, non-musicians are trying to cash in on the craze.

Movie studios want to make bits of film dialogue available—instead of your phone trilling, perhaps you'd like it to have Jack Nicholson say, "Here's Johnny!" And sports figures are recording shout-outs that fans can buy in lieu of regular rings.

... It is one thing to write a killer ringtone, but then it needs to get airplay, or phone play. That's where companies like Jamster come in. Jamster, a unit of Internet services company VeriSign, formats music for distribution on mobile devices and markets the ringtones on its website and through TV ads on MTV, BET, and other music-oriented networks.

O'Loughlin, who owns a production company called Next Plateau Entertainment, has compiled about 20 original ringtones from various artists, which he's pitched to Jamster executives, who will decide which ones to license and market—and perhaps turn into hits."

Nintendo Ringtones & Wallpapers For Mobile Phones

For the first time ever, all your favourite Nintendo game tunes will be ringing in your ear this Christmas as Nintendo launches its very own range of unique ring tones and wallpapers.

There's a host of unforgettable ring tones to suit everyone - including great classics like Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Metroid Prime to name a few.

Available through Nintendo's VIP 24:7 members club, ringtones can be downloaded by redeeming 'stars' from 05 December 2005.

Slain rapper revival through ringtones

Some of the biggest names in hip-hop, both dead and alive, have contributed to "The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter," including Eminem, Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, Nas, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliott. T

The 22-track set is due Dec. 20 and features songs built around unreleased Biggie Smalls music.

B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls aka Christopher G. Wallace was a talented rapper, who was gunned down in 1997 while he was leaving a star-studded Vibe magazine party after the Soul Train Music Awards.. It was L.A.'s boldest gangland killing of the decade, accoridng to Salon.com.

Both the new album and many of Biggie's hits have been transformed into over 60 ringtones custom-tailored for the wireless world. In all, ringtones have been created from 26 different Notorious B.I.G. songs. The Notorious B.I.G. ringtones, including ringback tones and video ringers, will be available across multiple carriers, including all wireless partners, ringtone portals, and Premium SMS services.

"Big was and still is a huge presence who has had a major influence on modern music and culture," said Sean "Diddy" Combs. "It is only fitting that his music now takes on a new life with ringtones, the newest use of music made popular by our kids".

Battle of the annoying ringtones

The Crazy Frog's Christmas single - Jingle Bells is available [listen to it here and is expected to become a music chart Christmas number one. But the Baarmy Sheep of the Lake District are launching a pre-emptive strike by making their own version of Jingle Bells available for free from the website of Cumbria Tourist Board at Baarmy Sheep. [via Cellular News]

This is not the first time the Baarmy Sheep launches a PR offensive to take out our favorite Crazy Frog. They don't have a chance! CF's Xmas jingle is outstanding!