“As the recording industry wakes up from its summer slumber and starts thinking about what will motivate the consumer for the holiday selling season, the major labels are getting ready to launch the ‘ringle,’ which combines the mostly defunct single format with ringtones,” Ed Christman reports for Billboard.
“Each ringle is expected to contain three songs — one hit and maybe one remix and an older track — and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover,” Christman reports. “Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which came up with the ringle idea, and Universal Music Group are going to be the first out of the box with ringles. The former will unleash 50 titles during October and November, while UMG will have anywhere from 10 to 20 titles ready.”
“Sources suggest the ringle will carry either a $5.98 or $6.98 list price,” Christman reports.
Full article here.
Why don’t the music cartels just start trying to sell typewriters or cotton gins or something equally as relevant?
Roh Roy Raggy!
I rove ringles! Ralt & Rinegar Reee Heeee
Judge Bork said
“That was “vingle:”
Wait, I thought that was a part of the Borg central core-a-ma-jiggy from Star Trek Voyager
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my wallet is empty.
Ooops, I don’t like this ringle, cringle, sprinkle concept.
And it is too expensive.
I RATHER downlown WHAT I want, when I want.
APPLE has it RIGHT.
w
Pitiful.
(Why do I think the price was the most carefully thought out part of this ‘product’?)
What idiot company came up with this idea?! Oh, Sony. I can totally believe that.
Cotton Gins? Darlin’, China killed the textile industry for just about everyone except for China. And I suspect with the cheap and forced labor in China, they might just buy a ton of Cotton Gins!
Those of you who laughed at this idea just didn’t get it. If Sony plays this smartly and tosses a bonus such as a rootkit, this will be the most innovative idea since sliced bread. You’ll never get a rootkit from iTunes Store regardless how much you are willing to pay. These things will sell by the dozens.
Fake Steve readers will recognize this as the Next Thing that Ringo was waiting for.
But seriously, my phone doesn’t have a CD player so I guess no ringles for me. (Wait… I’m supposed to transfer it… digitally? Are you sure? It isn’t that just entrapment from the RIAA? Sounds sketchy to me…)
Never mind. Ringtone isn’t actually on the CD.
Undoubtedly this will Save The Beleagured Music Industry! Brilliant!
Everybody short AAPL cuz iTunes Will Be Dead.
Three songs and a ringtone for $6 to $7. So it’s the one hit you want, plus two songs you probably don’t want, plus a ringtone that you may or may not like. And how is this significantly different from an “album.” The typical ratio of songs you like to songs you don’t like too much is probably about equal to getting the whole album.
These fuckwads never get tired of being completely stupid.
Maybe someone should tell them about the internet someday.
Here’s an idea: how about buying a song and being able to do whatever you like with it, rather than being nickeled and dimed for everything.
Here’s another: how about paying a fair price for technology, not have to pay a premium just because the manufacturers think they can gouge the public for more cash.
MW – I just “thought” I would put in my 2 cents
How about this:
Recording artists start selling directly to the public via the internet. Bypass the record companies.
Ring tones are free because I’ve already purchased the song and I don’t need to purchase a portion of the song again for a ring tone.
And how about record company execs. go stand on the street corner with a tin cup in their hand. Let’s see they’ve sold the many of the same old songs at least 5 times already. LP, 8-track, cassette, CD, Online and possibly a single. They should have saved their money.
Drunk Cheney wrote: “Recording artists start selling directly to the public via the internet.”
Just like Jackie “The Jokeman” Martling’s ex-wife: http://www.nancysirianni.com/home.html. “Heeeeeeeey!”
The music industry just doesn’t get it!
They are marketing to kids (10 to 14 year olds). But, the kids they are marketing to don’t buy CDs of any kind. Baby Boomers still buy the bulk of CDs but the recording industry does not target that demographic of buyer any longer. When the Music industry had some smarts was in the demographic that they marketed too was the 25 to 17 year olds in the 70’s and 80’s. A time when there were real artists in the industry and the industry promoted the artists. Today a label wants to shove 2 to 3 artists (no matter how bad that artist is) down the throats of the music listeners.
Brittney “no talent” Spears is a perfect example she was done and over after her second release, in the day, she might have been given a one release deal with a pick-up option if she was lucky.
The music industry has no real new upcoming superstar talents releasing music any more. The few remaining superstars are all self promoting, self financed and in positions in the industry to dictate contract terms so, the industry does not promote these releases because there is no promo payback overrides, interest fee, advance money pay downs, etc. When you can take a $9.00 wholesale price and your ROI is $8.58 for a Britney but, for a U2 the same $9.00 wholesale price and your ROI is $4.67, because you actually have to pay the artist a royalty.
What does all of this mean, it means the industry is broken. The only way to fix the industry is for the industry to basically go away. The RIAA as to disappear and Artists will need to pickup the pieces and work like Artists in other media do and all the wonderful indie music artist do today.
The recording industry thinks Apple iTunes has too much power in the industry. If I were Apple I flex my power and show them how vulnerable they are. I pick a new indie release like Jen Bye “Less than Perfect for this World” and promote the crap out of it world wide.
I personally don’t buy music from iTunes (other then the occasional oldies/classic Music Video)
I buy CDs and MP3 of Indie Music Artists from CDBaby.com.