Nature Calling

The website of the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safetey is offering free ringtones from the wild, all belonging to endangered species. Take your pick between the African Elephant, a Great Panda, a Hyazinthara (a sort of Brasilian parrot), a Wolf, a Siamang or a Hyena. All sounds come from the Archive of Animal Voices at the Museum of Natural Science/Berlin and therefore exist in high quality. Related: -- Downloading animal-noise ringtones for a good cause -- More on animal noises made in the wild -- "gorilla beating its chest" ringtone, courtesy of The British Library permalink (October 30th, 2005)

Retro Ringtones: the Pink Cadillac of ringtone libraries

Thomas Dolby Robertson, President of Retro Ringtones, was one of several people interviewed for an interesting piece that aired on the BBC's Today Show Monday morning, talking about the cultural effects of ringtones, and featuring some of Retro's, including their 'Endangered Species' bird tones.

Dont miss taking a virtual spin on this website. In it's own word, "Retro is the Pink Cadillac of ringtone libraries". I love their logo and their original categories such Animal Mating Calls (cows, dogs and what? oropendolas...)   and Great Lies of History (Nixon's "I am not a crook" and Bush's "Read My Lips" and others). Great!

permalink (October 14th, 2003)

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 permalink (December 19th, 2006)

Endangered Animal Ringtones reaches 100,000 free downloads

A wildlife conservation group, The Center for Biological Diversity, which has been offering free cell phone ringtones for a year now - with the sounds of any of 70 rare and endangered birds and animals - has provided 100,000 free downloads to people in 150 countries, according to center spokesman Jeff Miller. cbs5.com reports. "The sounds can be downloaded from the center's endangered species at Rare Earthtones. Users can also download photos, cell phone wallpapers and facts about each species." Related links to endangered species ringtones permalink (December 27th, 2007)

Endangered Species Ringtones Reach 50,000 Downloads in 50 Countries

The Center for Biological Diversity’s endangered species cell phone ringtones, available for free download at www.rareearthtones.org, have been so popular since they were unveiled on December 18th that more than 50,000 people have the endangered species calls on their cell phones. Cell-phone users in over 50 countries have downloaded the ringtones, primarily in the United States, Britain, Italy, China, Canada and Brazil. Currently there are over 1,000 new downloads each day. The Web site features free ringtones of the howls, croaks, chirps, songs and calls of more than 40 rare and endangered animals from around the world. A ringtone roar of a polar bear was added today. The polar bear ringtone is also being made available to the 10,000 or more friends of the polar bear signed up on the Center’s polar bear page on myspace.com. [Press release] Related: - Endangered wildlife ringtones permalink (March 20th, 2007)

Stephen Colbert, Jr., World's Most Famous Bald Eagle, Debuts on Free Endangered Species Ringtone Site

The Center for Biological Diversity has added the cry of Stephen Colbert, Jr. (named for the star of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report) to its free, educational endangered species ringtone site www.RareEarthtones.org. Joining the polar bear, beluga whale, gray wolf, and a host of other endangered species, the call of the eagle made famous by Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert can now be freely downloaded as a cell-phone ringtone. The Colbert, Jr. audio recording featured as a ringtone on the site is the world’s only known recording of the celebrity raptor’s voice, which most say is at least as distinctive as that of his father, Colbert, Sr. Many listeners even detect a note of sarcasm — or at least irony — in Colbert, Jr.’s high-pitched cry. Listen here. Press release. permalink (May 22nd, 2009)

Ringtones being replaced by real music

The ringtone and cell phone music market is sometimes hard to understand and is well, mostly confusing. But here's a very good article by Canadian Canoe, summarizing how this business is evolving - with insight on why Canada has lagged behind so far. "Ringtones and polyphonics are on the endangered-species list. In Europe and Asia for the past two years, and more recently in the U.S., the hot handset craze has been "truetones" -- clips of actual artists' recordings that play when you get a call. [...] The stake that the record labels have in the ringtone boom is obvious. An industry that has been getting beaten up by free music downloading is looking to another digital mode as its salvation. As long as ringtones were merely beepy cover-versions, only songwriters stood to collect any royalties. "Now artists, labels, producers ... all the people who normally get paid when things are sampled (on hip-hop songs) will now receive payment for ringtones," says Universal Music senior executive Erika Savage. "What's very interesting is how certain songs catalogued have a brand new life when they come out as a Mastertone," Savage says. "Like Celebration by Kool &The Gang. That's a song we've seen have a brand new life in the U.S. and Europe as a ringtone, even though that band might not be selling CDs anymore. It really is a singles market. permalink (March 1st, 2005)