"Stole" this from DownHill Battle!
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Ringtones--the strategic decoy we've been waiting for
Nicholas, March 23 11:47AM
Of all the theories about how the corporate music business can be saved, this has to be the most idiotically absurd, and it keeps getting talked about:

One growing market is mobile-phone ring tones. Scott Andrews, senior director of internet and mobile entertainment for royalty collection agency BMI, said ring-tone revenues are expected to double from $250 million in 2004 to $500 million in 2005. "This is a business that has scaled very quickly," Andrews said.

He added that potential synergies with other mobile technologies such as Bluetooth wireless could create even more opportunities for artists.

"Can you imagine being at a concert and saying, 'OK, everyone turn on your Bluetooth. We're going to send you a ring tone for free just for being here at the concert'?" Andrews said.

from WN

Holy crap-- ringtones getting distributed at concerts??? I'm sorry, Scott Andrews, but I don't think I can imagine that-- it's just too wonderful. And I really can't believe that all my musician friends haven't been talking about it already.

Please, please, major labels, bet your future on the ringtone market. After all, it's been doubling for the past few years, so what could possibly go wrong?

Can you imagine sitting at the computer and saying, OK, everyone start LimeWire. We're gonna send you our entire album for free just for going to our concert"?

...uh,

MY band would do that sorta thing (Don't know if I'd use a p2p service/app tho.)

"We're going to send you a ring tone for free just for being here at the concert"

Wow. A $50-$300 ticket will get you an mp3, too? Such a deal.

You want fries with that?

Would probably just offer to sell a properly mixed CD of the concert for $3 to $5.

(The MUSIC on the CD would be FREE, you would only be PAYING for the proper "official" mix, packaging, service, reliability of the product, etc.)

ringtones? pfft.

Guess they got some idea of running aroung charging everyone that heard some poor suckers phone go off?

In this day and age it may be that someone using the standard ring just might be distinctive enough to recognise as belonging to one person.

Something I miss here, I hate phones at home much less having one on me all the time. So how is that going attract me to such a market? *Laughs all the way out the door*

wraf, ring a ding, pay for it yea right

I can make ringtones from the music I already bought, and put it on my phone....SO I DONT NEED TO BUY IT AGAIN.

If you're phone has bluetooth or u have a cable, u can probably do it too.

Explain, why does a 20 second mono clip of a song (ringtone) cost like $2.50 and the full song "only" cost $0.99 on Itunes

Ring tones are fluff, poor quality digital replications. Much worse then the poorest quality P2P download. therefore the public should love it and it'll take off like wildfire and the industry should make a fortune on it.
Cute ringtones are the most anoying thing in a public place

"Explain, why does a 20 second mono clip of a song (ringtone) cost like $2.50 and the full song "only" cost $0.99 on Itunes?"

Less is more.

That's it. I'm dumping ProTools and going back to recording on a portable cassette in the middle of the room.

I'm going to play really, really slow and charge by the note. Because America is just stupid enough to fall for it.

My phone (treo 650) plays mp3s or wav files for ringtones that I load on to the phone when it synchs. I also have software to edit the mp3 files in any manner I choose. They sound better and are much more effective than the ringtones one can rent for a month.

This revenue stream should have already been dry. Most peole do it because its easy and they suffer some variant of techno-phobia.

Sorry for the randomness, but am I the only one that finds it creepy to see a Napster banner ad on this site?

I fart in their general direction.

yes, creepy lordperrin (ads are from google or some other outside ad placement service... and out of my control at the time being, sorry)

Is having all of your friends hear your favorite 10 second clip of a song they've probably already heard 500 times really that important? I think they should invent ring-movies. When someone calls my phone, my favorite clip from Titanic (or equally stupid movie that I've never seen) will come on and I can sit there and enjoy it for a few seconds, along with everyone else around me, until I answer it.

Even with the popularity of ringtones.. the future of music? Wow.

My poor phone just makes a "ringing phone" sound when someone calls. It must be broken.

I keep my phone on vibrate.

Sherm, you're phone isn't broken. That's a clip from "The Wall."

Oh yeah, there's zillions to be made by bamboozling post-yuppies like me into installing "Take on Me" as a ringtone.

Um, how did we put it so charmingly back in the day...NOT!