Ring-Tone Politics

The New York Times' Caucus on the Obama ringtone offer. Followed by the blog's quick survey to see if other campaigns were getting in on the action:

-- The Clinton campaign hasn’t set that oh-so-popular Celine Dion song (and former Air Canada jingle) to a ring tone yet.

-- John Edwards – whose campaign boasts all sorts of interactive connections to young voters on the Web – isn’t offering any rings. “That just seems really unusual to me,” said the staff member who answered the phone at John Edwards’s headquarters.

-- Katie Roberts, the spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign, seemed more amenable. “I didn’t know that,” she said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Warner Music and Sony BMG start digital music venture in Russia

Warner Music Group, Sony BMG and the billionaire Len Blavatnik on Thursday announced the creation of a digital music venture in Russia to sell products in one of the world's biggest markets for pirated content.

"The venture, Digital Access, will be based in Moscow and offer "full-track audio downloads, ringtones, ring-back tones, video clips and full color images" in Russia and the former Soviet region, Blavatnik's holding company, Access Industries, said in an e-mailed statement.

Blavatnik, a native Russian with U.S. citizenship, contributed two of the biggest Russian music labels, Soyuz and Nikitin Records, to the venture, which will start operating this autumn, according to the statement."

[via Blooomberg/Reuters/IHT]

Hanging up on ringtones

One of the many anomalies of the mobile music market is that, while a full track bought directly from a network will cost between £1 and £1.50, a 20- second snippet from the same original can be priced at up to three times as much. Globally, this has created a multi-billion-pound business.
The Guardian reports.

"... Realtones generate royalties for record labels (though monophonic and polyphonic tones, or those from animated amphibians, do not), creating an unexpected silver lining for the music business which is stuck in a generally rather black digital cloud.

But if the iPhone and the majority of next-generation handsets is anything to go by, the future of mobile entertainment lies in "sideloading" - transferring existing content, such as music, from a PC, as opposed to the more lucrative (for operators) process of purchasing products over the air.

"I think the ringtone business is in peril now because the operators have allowed into the market mobile phones which can sideload MP3s and use them as ringtones," says Andrew Bud, executive chairman of mBlox and vice-chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum.

With nobody able to explain convincingly just why consumers continue to pay a premium for a novelty product, the ringtone industry is something of a gravity-defying act anyway. One analyst goes so far as to describe ringtones as "digital jewellery", with most concluding that their value is a combination of personalisation and convenience.

... Anecdotally, record labels agree. Last year, Rob Wells of Universal Music Group International claimed that the UK ringtone market was in terminal decline."

RingTones Poised to Become the Political Bumper Stickers of the 2008 Election

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes well-chosen short political sound bites can rally a cause, make us laugh, and even sway an election.

Now RingTones08.com introduces a free site that lets people easily create and share ringtones about the upcoming 2008 elections.

Ringtones08 makes it quick and easy to create ringtones and broadcast opinions - from any political persuasion - about national or local candidates, issues, get out the vote, or any other subject dealing with the 2008 election. To post a ringtone, users simply go to RingTones08.com, click on “Submit Your Tone” and follow the steps on MyxerTones’ site to upload their 20 second audio file.

[via e-mail press release]

Personalised ringtone could help Brown reach youth

Great Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown is being encouraged to follow Barack Obama’s lead by recording personalised mobile ringtones to win-over politically apathetic 18-24 year olds.

Singtones let people record their favourite tracks, which are then ‘fixed’ so even the worst voices sound good. The final version, complete with backing track, is then sent as an mp3 file to mobile phones to use as a unique personalised ringtone and caller ID.

Brown isn’t noted for his singing voice, but Singtone’s unique technology will ensure he sounds in tune and in time, without losing that distinctive Scottish timbre.

[via e-mail press release]

iPhone ringtones will cost you

MacRumors has confirmed that the forthcoming version of iTunes Music Store.

Users will be able to right-click on purchased songs and select "Make into Ringtone," which will give them a small audio workspace to select the 30 seconds they want to use as a new ringtone.

According to MacRumors, the use of this feature will cost $.99 per track--a fee which goes toward licensing the music for your mobile phone. That means the total fee for a ringtone is $1.98

[via Crave]

iPhone may not rock music industry

iPhone owners won't be able to buy and download music over a wireless network. Instead, they will have to buy music via their computers and then download it to their phones, a process called side-loading. The Associated Press reports.

"The arrival of the iPhone on Friday has stoked optimism among some music company executives that it will usher in a new wave of easier-to-use mobile music devices or even entice more people into embracing the phone as music player — and into buying more music.

"The introduction of the iPhone is an enormously positive event," said Warner Music Group Corp. CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. at a conference earlier this month in New York. "It creates more and more consumers who are looking to buy music, but it also galvanizes the mobile industry to compete."

Some analysts, however, say mobile music sales will be dampened as long as users are limited to loading music on their phones via their PCs and Macintosh computers, and blocked from buying music wirelessly."

iPhone Ringtones Available Now

It didn’t take long for someone to lift the iPhone ringtones highlighted in the iPhone Guided Tour video. Available on iPhone Matters:

-- "SciFi" iPhone ringtone

-- "Time passing" iPhone ringtone

-- "Marimba" iPhone ringtone

More on Barak Obama's political soundtones

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obamabegan offering free ringtonesand wallpapers last week.

"The ringtones feature a techno beat along with lyrics like “Go, Obama, Obama!” or clips of speeches the Illinois senator has made on universal health care. They were formatted and delivered by Boston-based mobile technology boutique MStyle. The Boston Herald reports.

“It’s a way for Sen. Obama to reach out to a different audience,” said Nick Bogovich, director of technology for MStyle, a seven-person company based in Downtown Crossing.

Some of Obama’s ringtones seem downright wacky. One titled “Letter to Obama” simply goes, “Go! Go! Go! Obama, Obama, oh!”

Other ringtones feature snippets of speeches on topics like the Iraq War and health care. "

You can listen to them here.

Previously: - Free Obama ringtones to highlight candidate’s position on issues

Flotones.com - Music on your mobile

Flotones is a clever service that attempts to link the mobile services revolution with online marketing for musicians, writes KillerStartups.

In their own words: Flotones is a web site dedicated to promoting and distributing an Artist's mobile media, such as Ringtones and mobile Wallpapers. We're here to help you moblize, expand, and inform you fanbase. After you register and add your content, you'll be enabled to promote your mobile content at your shows, on your website, your cd baby page, and on your myspace profile.

Hyundai remakes image with mobile phones and music

Hyundai, a car manufacturer long known primarily for its affordable cars, is trying to remake its image while reaching out to a younger demographic on their mobile handsets. ClickZ reports

"... For instance, the company is promoting its Hyundai Elantra by offering MySpace users free ringtones from recording artists like The Ataris and Secondhand Serenade.

It also ran a sponsored text-to-vote campaign incorporating print media and billboards during the South by Southwest music and arts festival in Austin, Texas last March.

Hyundai is also in talks with Reuters to integrate mobile functions into a billboard placement on the news service's digital sign in Times Square."

Ringtones now offer personalized romance

Japanese singer Hiromi Go (the Japanese answer to Ricky Martin after his Japanese version of "Livin' La Vida Loca") took time to record his famous love song, "Oyome Sanba," 100 times recently in order to offer personalized romantic ringtones, reports UPI.

" The 51-year-old singer repeatedly sang his famous romantic hit for the new mobile phone service, the Mainichi Shimbun said Thursday, inserting a different woman's name into the song each time.

The Mainichi Shimbun said Go's decision to sing a personalized version of the song at a wedding last month prompted the creation of the mobile phone service.

Razz Tones Expand Ringtone Market With Personalized Voice Content

Razz.inc has announced the launch of Razz Tones,, a user-generated voice ringtone service.

"Razz’s web-based application allows consumers to create custom voice ringtones by combining one’s voice with entertaining sound clips and background music. Consumers can choose from Razz’s expansive catalog of TV characters, music, comedians, and effects to help create a truly personalized ringtone.

Razz Tones can be shared with friends via SMS, email or audio widget, which can be published to any website or social network such as MySpace, Facebook or Tagged. For published widgets, users can select from dozens of skins to further personalize their ringtone content."

[Press release]

What your ring tone says about you

Jim Farber, writer for The New York Daily News plays the "you are your ringtone" game with some innovative categories.

"In analyzing the nation's most popular ringtones, I found that the overwhelming majority fall into rigidly focused categories that, taken together, convey a stunningly narrow message.

While the overarching message conveyed by these tones is that of a, shall we say, healthy ego, the specific identities implied by the ringtones can be broken down into six focused categories:

-- 'I'M SEXY!'

-- 'I LIKE TO GET HIGH

-- 'I'M HORNY!'

-- 'I'M STUCK IN THE PAST AND PROUD OF IT'

-- 'I'M BAD AND/OR COOL'

-- 'I'M A ROCK STAR'

Related "you are your ringtone" articles:

-- Cellphone Psychology: You Are Your Ring Tone

-- On ringtones, What melody did you pick?

-- What Does Your Ringtone Say About You?

-- Are ringtones an extension of your negative side?

-- What kind of person sets their phone solely on vibrate mode?

-- What your ringtone says about you

-- Ringtones can reveal more about yourself that you might think

-- Ringtones: The new currency of cool

The Record Industry's Decline

Rolling Stone Magazine on tanking record sales with no hope in sight: and how it all went wrong.

This is the first part of a two-part of series on the fall of the record industry. Brian Hiatt and Evan Serpick's report on where the music business went wrong, from the current issue of Rolling Stone, as well as an interactive graphic illustrating the industry's slide. Tomorrow, check back with RollingStone.com for interviews with the industry leaders on the future of the music business.

... Overall CD sales have plummeted sixteen percent for the year so far -- and that's after seven years of near-constant erosion. In the face of widespread piracy, consumers' growing preference for low-profit-margin digital singles over albums, and other woes, the record business has plunged into a historic decline."

...

Free Obama ringtones to highlight candidate’s position on issues

Alongside Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama’s campaign to launch a new text messaging initiative, campaign officials said they will use free ringtones and wallpapers to highlight the candidate’s positions and key statements on the war in Iraq, healthcare and other issues.

[via RCRNews]

Custom ringtones for your home phone

Ringboxx by Home Phone Tunes enables you to personalize your home phones with music and exclusive audio content.

Ringboxx allows people to identify callers instantly, even when they are not near their phones, by using the ringtones they assign to friends, family or even unwanted 800 numbers. Just as ringtones are now a popular way to personalize mobile phones, the Ringboxx can transform a standard home phone by reflecting its owner's personality.

Silence telemarketers or assign them ringtones; with Caller ID, you can assign 800 numbers specific ringtones, or set the preference to silence and mute them altogether.

[Press release ]

Ringo Starr plans digital downloads of greatest hits album

Ringo Starr has signed a deal to release his Capitol/EMI catalog as downloads on the internet, including his hit 1970 album "Beacoups of Blues" and "Ringo" from 1973. NewsChannel 3 reports.

"The downloads will be available August 28, along with a compilation album, "Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr." The best-of, with tracks like "It Don't Come Easy" and "Sentimental Journey," will also be released on CD and as a collector's edition CD/DVD package featuring a film and video clips.

Six Ringo Starr ringtones will also be offered.

A solo album, called "Liverpool 8," is planned for a January 2008 release."

Internet Radio Races To Break Free of the PC

Start-ups and giants are jockeying for position in mobile Internet radio, in a race that could rearrange the business model of music and broadcasting. The WSJ reports.

Exotic Tibetan ringtones

Bharti Airtel has launched exotic Tibetan hello tunes and ring tones for its customers across India, in the presence of Gyari Dolma, deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament in exile.

The service consists of a total of 133 songs with Tibetan mantras, folk songs and remixes, including all-time favourites like Khu Sim ki Tsen Mo, Pho Mo Dra Nyam, Khatak Dum So among others.

[Hindustan Times]

Sony Ericsson Phones to Support New Music Service

In the days leading up to the availability of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, potentially competitive mobile music services, including one from Gracenote, are hitting the market. PCWorld reports.

"Gracenote announced on Thursday a new service that will become available on phones also introduced on Thursday by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. The service will let users search online from their handsets for artists, buy songs and ring tones, and view album art.

Gracenote can also identify songs that users are listening to on the FM radios in the phones and connect users to information about the songs and the opportunity to buy them.

The service will be available to users of the Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman phone and the K850 Cyber-shot phone, both introduced Thursday and due to be available in the fourth quarter."

EMI to sell protection-free songs via PassAlong

EMI Group, the world's third-largest music company, is expanding its strategy to sell digital music without copy-protection software to more retail sites through a deal with PassAlong Networks. Reuters reports.

"The new premium download tracks will be available in a higher sound quality MP3 format of 320 kilobits per second, compared with the usual 128 to 192 kilobits per second rate offered by most online music stores such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes Music Store.

PassAlong said EMI will add more than 100,000 premium downloads to PassAlong's catalog of nearly 3 million songs, of which more than 2 million are songs from independent labels in MP3 format.

Earlier this month, EMI became the first major record company to start selling the vast majority of its digital albums without copy-protection software, also known as digital rights management (DRM).

MusicStation beats iPhone for The Ultimate Music Handset

MusicStation has stolen a march on Apple, in the fight for the ultimate music handset. They've announced that they have launched a 'All you can eat' music download service that is available in Sweden from today, and will be rolled out across the rest of Europe and Asia in the next few weeks. No plans for the US so far.

MusicStation has made deals with Universal, Sony BMG, EMI, Warner and some of the larger independent labels.

[via Shiny Shiny]

36 % of Finns have a radio on their cell phone

According to Finnpanel 1,6 million Finns (older than 9 years) have a radio on their cell phone.

You might say "that´s not much", but that is actually 36 % of the finnish population (in 2005 the figure was 17 %).

[via About Nokia]

Sprint Combines Humor and News with Weekly Pop 10 Playlist

To celebrate its mobile music leadership and enthusiasm for popular culture, Sprint is introducing a weekly “Pop 10” playlist of songs.

Whether it’s behind-the-scenes news from Paris, France, or Paris Hilton behind bars, Sprint will post a playlist each week to lend a melody to the latest pop culture capers.

The inaugural playlist, which is being posted today, sets to music Paris Hilton’s return to jail.

Flirtomatic tests music download service

Dating website Flirtomatic is testing an online and mobile music download service which promises users the chance to flirt with the artists whose music is being made available.

The service is being launched by Glasgow rock band The Hedrons, who are being allowed to promote, distribute and sell their music, while flirting and chatting with members.

[via NMA]

Songs and Ringtones for ice cream trucks

Ears weary of "Pop Goes the Weasel" and the Mister Softee theme during these hot summer months now have an alternative: Michael Hearst's album "Songs for Ice Cream Trucks." Reuters reports.

"The Brooklyn-based songwriter set out to change the musical landscape for mobile frozen treat purveyors with new tunes -- and ringtones -- like "Ice Cream Yo!" and "Where Do Ice Cream Trucks Go in the Winter?"

Independent ice cream vendors across the country are already taking notice. Before it hits stores Tuesday (June 12), the Bar None album has been available for purchase through Hearst's Web site songsforicecreamtrucks.com and iTunes."

UK labels look to mobile

UK labels are looking to the mobile phone industry to kick-start growth in digital music sales, said industry body the BPI this morning, reports macworld.

"The BPI notes that UK consumers are Europe's biggest mobile downloaders, with mobile services boosting current growth in digital music sales

While demand for older monophonic and polyphonic ringtones is in decline, record labels are set to benefit as new business models emerge in mobile, creating new markets for recorded music.

.. Digital music consultancy MusicAlly estimate that UK consumers download up to 1.3 million tracks per month using their mobiles."

Harry Potter ringtones

Mobile phones won’t be missing out on Harry Potter madness this summer.

"The mobile game will be out for downloading in Europe from 15 June and in North America from June 26.

In addition to the game there’ll also be ringtones, voicetones and wallpapers based on the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film. "

[GamesDog ]

Ringtone sales are beautiful music to bands

With the music industry losing millions of dollars every year to illegal downloading and duplication, popular artists such as Beyonce and Green Day are making big bucks from ringtones -- the melodies or excerpts that mobile phones play when incoming calls arrive. Denver Business Journal reports.

"Ringtones sales are estimated to be $550 million in 2007, according to the latest projections from Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). The demographic for ringtones tends to be teens and young adults, ages 18 to 30, who are interested in personalizing their phones with their favorite songs.

Two local entrepreneurs are offering young, up-and-coming musicians a way to get a piece of the lucrative ringtone market.

Austin Gayer and Daniel Newman launched PocketFuzz in March 2006 as a way for musicians to offer ringtones and text messages through their Web sites or MySpace. Gayer and Newman assumed the titles of president and CEO, respectively.

The two estimate 20,000 bands already have signed up for the service -- a fraction of the 3 million bands around the world.

PocketFuzz, a playful reference to what the partners came up with when they dug in their pockets to fund their new venture, is available for free to independent artists.

Fans purchase the ringtones for $2 each from PocketFuzzs Web site (which is linked through MySpace or the artist's site). The ringtones, which can be edited from the original songs by the user, are sent and downloaded to the mobile phones.

PocketFuzz shares half of its ringtones revenue with the artists -- giving musicians virtual "free money" for using the service, Newman said.

Fans who purchase through PocketFuzz also can opt to receive text messages from the bands, including updates about new releases or upcoming shows.

... Morning After Records' most popular artist, Photo Atlas, sold about 2,000 ringtones of its most popular songs through PocketFuzz -- giving the Denver band a decent chunk of pocket change."