Communist Ringback Tones

State-controlled mobile service providers in China are offering communist ringback tone music, the tone that you hear while waiting for someone to pick up the line.

According to Trendhunter, the song played instead of the waiting tone is called ‘Guo Jia,’ which means ‘Country’ in Chinese.

These ringback tones were made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.

Judge Sotomayor-themed ringtones

The mobile music site mSpot has come up with the perfect playlist in honor of Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

mSpot says, "the beauty of these ringtones is that mSpot.com allows you to edit up to 30 seconds of your favorite law-abiding tone – you don’t have to download what the carrier pre-selected."

[Politico.com via Infrastructure]

AT&T Workers Create “Ready to Strike” Ringtone

The union representing AT&T workers has created a "Ready to Strike" song and ringtone, just in case negotiations fail over demands for huge health care cuts.

A performance by Toronto hip-hop artist Riley Wallace, who sang an earlier version of the lyrics for a rally, is up on YouTube. The lyrics include the lines "Get ready to strike, get ready to walk the line" and "Realize, recognize, mobilize, stay alive."

Listen here.

[The WSJ via SmartBrief]

'Reactionary' Ringtones Spark Arrests In Tibet

Police in Tibet have swept markets in recent months looking for banned music. Chinese state media report that police have arrested several suspects for allegedly downloading to their cell phones music that the government considers "reactionary." npr reports.

Woeser, who goes by only one name like many Tibetans, is one of Tibet's most outspoken authors. Recently, the Beijing-based writer has been blogging about the hidden world of reactionary ringtones, subversive songs and dissident downloads.

... But even before digitized music and cell phones arrived in the Himalayan highlands, there was already a tradition of protest music.

Kirkuk Ringtones Reflect Rivalries

In Kirkuk, Irak, ringtones identify ethnic and religious affiliations in a bitterly contested city. From the Institute for war & peace reporting.

In Iraq’s most diverse and disputed province, mobile phone ringtones play a big part in the politics of identity. Kirkuk contains most of Iraq’s many religious and ethnic groups, and has been described as everything from a colourful bouquet of flowers to a powderkeg.

Related:

-- In Iraq, having the wrong ringtone can get you killed

-- Baghdad Brigade Sunni militia look for mobile phones with “unIslamic” ringtones

Inaugural Ringers Commemorate Historic Speech

At ObamaRingers.com, you can download four commemorative ringtones featuring excerpts from President Obama's swearing-in ceremony and historic speech.

The ringers are studio-composed and capture key inspirational points in President Obama's inaugural address with complementary background music created especially for these productions.

[via Press release]

Press ‘3’ for corruption

You can no longer buy a Senate seat from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but you can buy “his” ringtones. [via DC examiner]

FunMobility.com, a company based in Pleasanton, Calif., has released five new “Blagotones” that allow you — like Blagojevich — to appear totally sketchy while — unlike Blagojevich — avoiding federal prosecution.

Two of the funniest ringtones are called “Wiretap” and have such quotes from an impersonator saying, “If I don’t get what I want ... I’ll just take the Senate seat myself” and “Our recommendation is to fire all the [expletive] people ... and get us some editorial support” (referring to Blagojevich’s alleged attempt to pressure the Chicago Tribune).

Another ringtone is set to Eminem’s “Slim Shady,” with the soon-to-be former governor answering a reporter’s question about having a cloud hanging over his head.

Click here to listen.

Vote for Obama ringtone

Vote for Obama ringtone on Myxer.

Free Sarah Palin Ringtones from FunMobility

Governor of Alaska and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's media sound bytes have been mashed byFun Mobility into six free ringtones.

Sarah Palin Tones Include:

-- Foreign Policy Experience
-- Lipstick on a Pig
-- Quiz Show: Palin's straight talk on the Bush Doctrine
-- Shore up the Economy
-- VIP Nominee
-- Blizzard of words

[via Wireless and Mobile News]

India's condom ring tone a huge global hit

The 'condom a cappella' ringtone, launched last month to promote safe sex in India, has already received 257,744 SMS requests for download and over two million hits on the website, according to Sify.

"The ring tone can be downloaded by SMSing "CONDOM" to 56887 (download charges apply) or free from anywhere worldwide on the website www.condomcondom.org. The ring tone has been composed by Rupert Fernandes and sung by Vijay Prakash.

"As it became international news, there has been demand for it from all corners of the globe," said an excited Yvonne MacPherson, Country Director of the BBC World Service Trust, the international charity of the BBC., who got calls from radio stations from across the US and Britain. "

Listen here

Previously: Condom a cappella ringtone promotes safe sex

Slate offers Free Political Ringtones

Slate is offering free political ringtones.

You can choose to hear John McCain say, "My friends," every time you get a call. Or if you're in a less friendly mood, you can switch to Hillary's "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" ring tone.

To get a ring tone, send a text message with one of the order codes listed below to the number 98999. For the Hillary laugh, for example, text SLATE LAUGH to the number 98999.

Or if you just want to listen, click here and scroll down.

[via Gawker]

Rock The Vote celebrity ringtones

The AT&T and Rock the Vote campaign will feature exclusive celebrity ringtones that promote the importance of voting, text-polling, reports from student journalists and event sponsorships, among other initiatives.

Rock the Vote's mission is to build the political clout and engagement of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country. Rock the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and incite young people to register and vote in every election.

[via CNN]

American-backed killer militias strut across Iraq

Carrying their weapons, the Knights of Ameriya, claiming to be part of the Baghdad Brigade Sunni militia funded by the American forces, went from one class to the next in an Ameriya school last week, looking for mobile phones with “unIslamic” ringtones. One child with a pop music ringtone was slapped and kicked in the legs as a warning to the others.

The Times Online reports.

"Members of the Baghdad Brigade receive $300 a man each month from the Americans, who also provide vehicles, uniforms and flak jackets. In return the brigade keeps out Al-Qaeda, dismantles roadside bombs and patrols the area, a task performed with considerable swagger by many of its 4,000 recruits.

... US-backed Sunni militias have spread eastwards from Anbar across Baghdad. They already number 77,000, known collectively as “concerned local citizens”. This is more than the Shi’ite Mahdi Army and nearly half the number in the Iraqi army.

Exotically named groups such as the Knights of Ameriya and the Guardians of Ghazaliya strut the streets in camouflage uniforms, brandishing new AK47s that the Americans say they have not supplied. "

Related: - In Iraq, having the wrong ringtone can get you killed

King's outburst generates $2m-worth of ringtones

When the Spanish king Juan Carlos turned to Hugo Chavez and said to him, a touch irritably, "Por qué no te callas!" /"Why don't you shut up?"), little did he know that his breach of diplomatic protocol would become a smash hit across the country, or that those five famous words would become a multi-million euro business, selling ringtones, mugs, T-shirts and websites. The Guardian reports.

According to David Bravo, a lawyer specialising in IT law and intellectual property, "the use of the sentence 'why don't you shut up?' in ringtones ... is a violation of his image rights".

An estimated 500,000 people have already downloaded the ringtone, generating around €1.5m (£1m or $2.2m), but many companies have circumvented any potential problems over rights by using an actor's voice instead of the king's.

Over 700 videos have appeared on YouTube, with parodies ranging from a Benny Hill sketch to a Nike advert featuring the Brazilian star Ronaldinho, which ends: "Juan do it. Just shut up."

Related:

-- King Juan Carlos losing his temper a big hit on YouTube

-- King Juan Carlos "Por qué no te callas!" ringtone

King Juan Carlos "Por qué no te callas!" ringtone

Five words – “Why don’t you shut up!” - have catapulted King Juan Carlos, the Spanish monarch, to internet stardom, and driven Spain’s relations with Latin America to a new low, according to the FT.

... The unprecedented spectacle of King Juan Carlos losing his temper is a big hit on YouTube this week. “Por qué no te callas!” has also become a popular ring-tone for mobile phones in Spain as well as a rallying cry for Mr Chávez’s opponents in Venezuela."

Presidential ringtones

Campaign financing site Your Billion Dollar President has created downloadable ringtones for Bill Richardson, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, Dennis Kucinich, and yes, Ron Paul, whose ringtone takes a cue from "Rawhide."

The site also has a "how to" for creating and submitting your own ringtones, should you have the perfect tune for the handfull of Duncan Hunter supporters.

[via AppScout ]

Related:

-- Barak Obama's political soundtones

-- Other politic ringtone links

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.”

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]

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

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]

Endangered wildlife ringtones

The endangered species advocates at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity are offering ringtones of the croaks, chirps and songs of dozens of rare and endangered animals from around the world.

"Featured are the authentic sounds of some of the world’s most threatened owls, tropical birds, frogs, toads and marine mammals.

The free ringtones are easily downloaded from the Center’s Web site at Rare EarthTones.

Related:

-- The website of the Animal Voices at the Museum of Natural Science/Berlin

-- World's oldest conservation group and offers wildlife ringtones

-- More on animal noises made in the wild from The British Library

-- "Gorilla beating its chest" ringtone, courtesy of The British Library

Greenpeace launches activist ringtone to save oceans

Supported by a South Park animation, Greenpeace is using a special ringtone and text alert sound in its campaign for a moratorium on bottom trawling in the ocean. Mike Grenville for 160characters.org reports.

... "Greenpeace says that at the moment, the EU, under the influence of Spain as well as Canada, are opposed to this and developed the viral cartoon and ringtone campaign to remind supporters to take action.

The free MP3 format ringtones and an SMS alert of "Oh my God, they killed Squiddy!" can be downloaded here: Blame Canada Ringtone."

Other examples of ringtones used for political purposes:

-- "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" ringtone:

-- Riot Tones. The new bumper sticker?

-- Ring tones--the new protest songs

-- India. Patriotic Ringtones and Prime Minister Voice mail used in campaign

-- USA. Political ringtones from Ringtone JukeBox

-- USA. Jabbertones's political voice tones

-- USA. Presidential Voice Tones

Related articles to Hello Garcia / Gloria Arroyo ringtones:

-- It is my voice on poll tape (and ringtone), admits embattled Arroyo

-- From ring tones to car horns? Only in the Philippines

-- Filipinos clamour for scandalous mobile ringtone

-- Ringtones express widespread disgust over (Ms Arroyo's) obvious poll fraud

-- Wiretapped Voice Latest Ringtone Craze

cellphone ring tones all the rage among young Iraqis

In a city bereft of entertainment, text messaging and swapping ringtones are all the rage for young Iraqis trying to lighten their lives and political ringtones are popular. USA Today reports.

"Cellphone shops, the only crowded stores these days, sell special CDs with ringtones at about $2 apiece. Collections of short jokes especially written for texters are best-sellers. "It's not like there's much to do around here," Abdul Kareem said. "It's perhaps the only venue to express ourselves."

A popular ringtone features the music from Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise. But the local version includes a voice similar to Saddam's rapping in English: "I'm Saddam, I don't have a bomb/Bush wants to kick me/I don't know why/smoking weed and getting high/I know the devil's by my side."

The song concludes with: "My days are over and I'm gonna die/all I need is chili fries" as a crowd yells "Goodbye forever, may God curse you."

Competing with Saddam for the most popular song in Iraq today is Iraqi pop star Hossam al-Rassam — "Ma, I've been stung by a scorpion." Its sensual lyrics challenge widespread conservatism in Iraq by talking about a girl's lips and perfume "that make you live longer."

In Iraq, having the wrong ringtone can get you killed

In a very interesting article, TIME looks at how Iraqis are changing their identities to survive — and why just having the wrong first name, the wrong accent, praying a certain way or having the wrong political ringtone - can get you killed.

"It's indicative of the danger of daily life in Baghdad these days that the very basis of your identity can mark you for death.

Shi'ites and Sunnis share a common ethnicity and have a hard time telling themselves apart. And so the killers rely on a cruder vetting process: choosing victims based on their first name, which for many Iraqis is their only religiously distinguishing characteristic.

Websites like the Iraqi League offer survival technique for those in the line of fire.

They offer detailed tips on how Sunnis can pass themselves off as Shi'ites—like how to pray in public places (there are small differences between the Shi'ite and Sunni postures), or how to acquire a southern Iraqi accent (the majority of southerners are Shi'ite).

... And they are warned against using mujahedin anthems as ringtones on their cell phones, a practice common among sympathizers of the Sunni insurgency. There's also useful advice on how and where to get a fake ID."

A song to promote Net Neutrality - for your cell phone

Jill Sobule, Kay Hanle and Michelle Lewis, three independent singers and songwriters have teamed for a special song that promotes “Net Neutrality”, reports 21talks.

The song, entitled “God save the Internet”, launched on savetheinternet.com, can be downloaded - or listened to - here.

Lyrics (first strophe)

Hey Mr. Telecom Man
Go-od Save the Internet
Don't change my reality
Keep that neutrality
Go-od save the Internet

All I want to be is free to choose
Where I get my music and I get my news
Where I hook up with a creep or I buy my shoes
Don't bring me down
It's an old timer tale about moderness
Where some of them folks in our congress
Want to send us back to days of the poney express
And slow our speediness
Hey Mr. Telecom Man
God Save the Internet
Don't change my reality
Keep that neutrality,
Go-od save the Internet

Download the MP3 version on your cell phone as a political statement!

Related:

-- House Rejects Net Neutrality

-- Net Neutrality Advocates

-- SaveTheInternet.com Coalition Statement.

-- A call for Internet Black Out

-- Links to other examples of political ringtones

"Call Connected Thru The NSA" ringtone

They Might Be Giants offers three ringtone choices, "Phone Phone Phone", "Ring Ring" and new, "Call Connected Thru The NSA" - with arresting and uh, timely lyrics.

Call connected to the NSA / complete transmition to the NSA/ suspending your rights for the duration of the permanent war.

The tracks were created by the band at the end of a TMBG album session with the legendary Pat Dillet.

[via YESbutNobutYes via [BB-Blog]]

Related political ringtones:

USA
-- "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" ringtone

-- Ring tones--the new protest songs

-- Riot Tones. The new bumper sticker?

Philippines
-- It is my voice on poll tape (and ringtone), admits embattled Arroyo (Philippines)

-- From ring tones to car horns? Only in the Philippines

-- Filipinos clamour for scandalous mobile ringtone

-- Ringtones express widespread disgust over (Ms Arroyo's) obvious poll fraud

-- Wiretapped Voice Latest Ringtone Craze

Elsewhere
-- The ringtone is the new bumper sticker (World)

-- Israeli election ringtones make a splash

The ringtone is the new bumper sticker

Religious ringtones -- and ringback tones -- are growing in popularity throughout the world amongst people of faith, informs National Ledger.

Whether it is gospel music, or a Contemporary Christian, chart-topping hit, or the tones of a muezzin calling out five prayer times a day, mobile carriers are offering religious-based ringtones.

Even the secular humanists seem to be getting into the trend. "We have a whole series of socially responsible ring tones -- with anti-poverty and anti-animal cruelty themes," Andy Nulman, from ringtone developer Airborne Entertainment. "The ringtone is the new bumper sticker, or the new protest sign, raising your message above the crowd, letting them know what you think."

Next week, socially responsible themed ringtones, called "Just Cause", will be launched at a trade show for the cellular industry, said Nulman, noting that the message of one of the ringtones is, "Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger."

Overseas, the trend is growing too. In the UK a Christian text-messaging service called UCB Mobile sends prayers by SMS to the faithful, as well as receives prayer requests. Another firm, based in Dubai, developed a mobile phone, which included a compass, to tell the owner which direction to turn to pray to Mecca. Another provider has developed a mobile-phone service for Orthodox Jews in Israel, which garnered some attention recently during the election for a successor for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

A study showed that belief-oriented services may be particularly popular among 13- to 18-year-olds. "The pessimism of Generation X and the exuberant self-reliance of early Gen Y has given way to a new ethos," said the Energy BBDO study of 3,322 teenagers in 13 countries spanning the globe.

Israeli election ringtones make a splash

Cellcom, the mobile operator, said that Shas, the small, right-wing, ultra-Orthodox party's ringtone garnered 30 percent of the 3,000 downloads requested since the company made the ringtones available on its Web site last week, according to PhysOrg.com.

"During election season, the Israeli government grants equal television air time to each party running for seats in the country's parliament, the Knesset. The commercials invariably feature jingles, which Cellcom made available as downloadable ringtones.

The win wasn't a total surprise to Cellcom. A musical version of an ultra-Orthodox prayer had already proven a popular ringtone download for the company, the news site said.

Second place in the ringtone race went to Meretz, Shas' polar opposite on the political spectrum. "

More on Political Ringtones in Ringtonia.com.

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" ringtone

boingboing picks up on John Borland's article on protest tones and George Bush's words of praise for former FEMA director Michael Brown - a satirical voice tone on his incompetency in handling the situation in New Orleans following the floods.

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," he says, and Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans" starts playing under the looped quote. The remark is a snippet from a speech Bush made in the flooded southern city, in which he praised Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown shortly before Brown resigned.

The homemade ring tone, a pointed political statement, is the creation of Eric Gundersen, a Washington-area Web developer for nonprofits. It's an early take on the genre of protest ring tones, a grassroots practice now picking up steam in the United States after emerging in the Philippines a few months ago."

Riot Tones. The new bumper sticker?

More on Riot Tones from Trendcentral.

"Adding to the plethora of bumper stickers, buttons and t-shirts, political activists now have another means of protest: the ringtone. First heard in the Philippines, protest ringtones have recently popped up, albeit in small numbers, around the U.S. as well. While those heard thus far have been predominantly anti-Bush, we expect that conservatives will also ultimately adopt the trend.

A new open source system similar to Xingtone, called Riot Tones is in the works though; created by programmer and activist Evan Henshaw Plath, Riot Tones will help users create their own ringtones and share them via the web.

As the technology to create and share these protest ring tones becomes more widely available, we expect them to become a popular choice for spreading messages among politically aware young people".

Related: - Ring tones--the new protest songs

Ring tones--the new protest songs

News.com writes about ringtones as a political activism tool. [via Moco News]

"A political ring tone could as easily carry a Rush Limbaugh or foot-in-mouth John Kerry quote.

Yet either way, it has the potential of being an explosively viral phenomenon, a modern-day version of political bumper stickers or T-shirts. Music ring tones today are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars a year in sales, and in some cases, they far outsell the music single or CD they're based on.

... Activists say the soon-to-be-released Riot Tones, or other tools like it, will help political ring tones spread more quickly, by making it a simple process to get them onto most phones. Once the infrastructure is in place, nonprofit groups are likely to use ring tones as a standard part of their membership perks, some say.

Political ring tones took root in the Philippines earlier this year, after opponents of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gained access to a wiretapped recording ((dubbed Hello Garcia") of a clandestine conversation between the head of state and a top election official.

Related articles to Hello Garcia / Gloria Arroyo ringtones:

-- It is my voice on poll tape (and ringtone), admits embattled Arroyo

-- From ring tones to car horns? Only in the Philippines

-- Filipinos clamour for scandalous mobile ringtone

-- Ringtones express widespread disgust over (Ms Arroyo's) obvious poll fraud

-- Wiretapped Voice Latest Ringtone Craze

Other examples of ringtones used for political purposes:

-- Riot Tones

-- India. Patriotic Ringtones and Prime Minister Voice mail used in campaign

-- USA. Political ringtones from Ringtone JukeBox (image above)

-- USA. Jabbertones's political voice tones

-- USA. Presidential Voice Tones

It is my voice on poll tape (and ringtone), admits embattled Arroyo

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the President of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo, has admitted it is her voice on the controversial election tape - which has been turned into a ringtone and a car horn -, but insisted she did not sway the result of last year's presidential election.

"In a televised address to the nation last night, Dr Arroyo apologised for a "lapse in judgement".

"I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec [Commission on Elections] official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election and it did not."

Her comments broke a silence she had maintained on the scandal for three weeks and signal a belated recognition that the accusations will not go away.

The country is transfixed by the scandal. In parliament, in the press, at street markets and in coffee houses people are following the case closely".

A mobile phone ringtone featuring the words “Hello Garci” taken from a recording at the centre of allegations Arroyo tried to fix the result of last year's election has been downloaded by thousands.

Previous related posts:

-- From ring tones to car horns? Only in the Philippines

-- Filipinos clamour for scandalous mobile ringtone

-- Ringtones express widespread disgust over (Ms Arroyo's) obvious poll fraud

-- Wiretapped Voice Latest Ringtone Craze

Read also Politics and the new media -- The Philippines was the first country in the world to use text messaging to topple a former president. (And now they may soon be the first country to overturn a government with a ringtone (and car horn!)