Major ringtone auction takes on classical tunes

U.S.A. first major ringtone auction will put original tunes by classical U.S. composers up for sale, reports Arizona Republic.

Organized by the American Composers Orchestra to raise money for its young-composer and educational programs, the auction offers miniworks written expressly for cellular phone by 10 artists. Among them are already established composers such as Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson, Danny Elfman and emerging talent Jason Freeman.

Each will conceive one 20- to 30-second ringtone. The bids, which start at $100, may be placed online from April 10 to May 5.

"Everyone can get a Beyonce ringtone for a buck or so," said Barbara Burch, director of development at the non-profit group. "But just one person in the world will have the ringtone by Philip Glass. This is a collectible ringtone."

"We still see the dominance of rap, R&B, alternative, punk and pop," said Drew Hull, research director of mobile content at NPD Group. "But we are definitely seeing growth in jazz and classical music."

Almost non-existent three years ago, ringtones in those genres now make up about 5 percent of the market. The participation of big names in the auction is a sign "that this market is growing and becoming part of the mainstream," Hull added. "You have famous classical composers, whom you won't associate with the teenager market, becoming involved, and it's not looked down upon."

Regine | 10:33 AM | Ringtone «Firsts» |
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