“Ringtones, of course, are little 30-second snippets from pop songs that play on your cellphone when somebody calls. It’s an insanely profitable industry—to the tune of $5 billion a year, worldwide,” David Pogue blogs for The New York Times.
“Apple is selling a [user-customizable] ringtone and the full song together for $2, and… that’s a bargain… at least compared with existing sources for ringtone sales. Pop song ringtones from T-Mobile and Sprint cost $2.50 apiece; from Verizon, $3. You don’t get to customize them, choose the start and end points, adjust the looping and so on. Incredibly, after 90 days, every Sprint ringtone dies, and you have to pay another $2.50 if you want to keep it. Verizon’s last only a year,” Pogue reports.
“Now, I realize that it’s easy to get ringtones onto your phone (or iPhone) for free, using unauthorized techniques of varying degrees of difficulty. Thousands of people do ringtones that way, but I’m not even going there,” Pogue reports.
“And my intention isn’t to shoot the messenger by blaming Apple for the insanity of this pricing. Apple’s pricing is lower than any American carrier, offers customizability that nobody else does, and gets you both the ringtone and the full song,” Pogue writes. “No, I’m sure that, if you follow the ringtone gravy train to its source, you’ll find record-company executives. There they’ll be sitting, rubbing their hands together with glee and hoping that their young customers don’t identify the ringtone industry for what it is: the last great digital rip off.”
Full article here.
Someone’s got to pay for Middlebronfman’s yacht fuel, right?
What Microsoft and the music labels understand are subscription ringtones. Then you can have ALL of the ringtones. Imagine access to millions of ringtones. More is always better and it’s the best deal of all. I don’t see why the morons at Apple can’t get this very simple concept through their thick heads. You MAC lemmings are getting ripped off.
Welcome to the Social.™
Sprint ringtones die after 90 days???? I had no idea. What a screw job!
I’m happy with the ringtone that came with the iPhone.
I suppose being too busy and too lazy to change it has a lot to do with it.
I had forgotten about that 90-day limit on Sprint ringtones. Back when I had Sprint (never again, the worst coverage I’ve ever seen), I bought a ringtone (Mario Bros. Theme) and was quite happy with it. Then that fateful day, it said my time limit was up. I couldn’t believe I had paid $2.50 for something that lasted only 3 months.
zune tang,
this is the first time i responded to you, or at all, ever, on this board for that matter, but i read it every day.
your posts are great, and that was by far the best!
thanks,
hamdog
Has anyone ever pointed out the irony of kids (young and old) illegally downloading full CDs and movies, yet shelling out several dollars for a 15-30 second ringtone? I’m sure I’m not the only one to notice.
Apple’s plan seems quite reasonable for songs purchased off iTunes. Expiration dates?? Why tolerate such nonsense?
There are few things in the world I detest more than the custom ringtone market and people that use them. Low quality bites blaring from the tiny, tinny, over-driven speakers of crap-box phones… I really want to hear “I Got Friends in Low Places” 6 times in a row in the food court. Oh yeah, you’re so clever, you set “Imperial Attack” to play when your boss calls. How very droll. You should work in cinema, young jedi.
…sorry you all had to see that.
-c
My iPhone now plays some James Brown when the boss calls…
The Boss
Yeah…I’m cool.
I’ve had the same ringtone (“I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones) on my Sprint phone for over two years and was only charged once.
Seriously, Sprint and Verizon ringtones kill themselves after a time? And people pay more for these crappy over-compressed mp3? I’ve never bought a ringtone because I had no desire to pay that much for something that I heard only when someone called. That they’re really only good temporarily is an insult that I’m glad I never fell for.
Pogue’s question in his article, “Why must I pay one fee to play it by tapping Play, and a second fee to play it when someone calls my phone?” is a good one. Why is that? No doubt that it is indeed the demands of the greedy record companies. I can’t wait for digital music distribution to take these asshats out permanently.
Look at me
you know what you see,
you see a bad mutha.
Ok… Pogue is smoking a big distilled kool-aid fatty.
There’s nothing about the iTunes ringtone system that remotely calls for the use of the word, “bargain.”
On top of that, not only is being forced to pay for something twice an insult of Microsoftian stature, the mere fact that Apple believes I do not have the right to install ringtones that I create from MY OWN intellectual property is detestable.
This is an all new Apple Computer, and one I don’t like very much at all.
oh, and by the way, the caps lock key on my dell is broken, as is my optical drive, and my sound board, and . . . .
wrong
dang. so’s the shift key.
I guess Zune Tang is referring to all those ringtones for that Zune phone that doesn’t exist…
Speaking of what does not exist, did Redmond close up shop on Zune already? That place is a ghost town, and with the new iPods launched, I am sure Redmond is now trying to figure out how to take their new Zune prototypes and rebuild them.
The upcoming Zune “nano killer” is a mid-sized nano/full-iPod. In other words, a no-mans-land product…
The new Zune wasn’t expecting to have to compete against an iPod classic model starting out with an 80 GB HD, and suddenly Redmond has pricing issues to burn out. But hey, that’s no problem, just burn up another $500 million in losses this quarter for the Zune/xBox360 “empire” no problem.
It is amazing to me that M$ shareholders allow this type of mis-management and hire by the thousands each and every quarter because that’ll fix things, game to continue.
Here’s to re-living the 90’s!
This is not a fair representation of Pogue’s article. He is far more critical of the whole industry than ythe snippets above suggest. In fact, he derides the fact that you have to pay for ringtones if you already “own” a song.
“If I buy and download a pop song legitimately, shouldn’t I be able to trigger playback any way I want? Why must I pay one fee to play it by tapping Play, and a second fee to play it when someone calls my phone? It just makes no sense.”
f two bucks for an effing ringtone…been using iToner and put on what I want. Works flawlessly.
It’s about time somebody mentioned it!
I couldn’t believe the complaints about iTunes ringtones. Everybody suddenly forgot that you had to pay separately for ringtones? That the music industry is eating off ringtones almost as much as albums these days and would never begin to give them away for free?
You can’t ADJUST SHIT with the other services! You take what snippet they GIVE YOU! And on top of that it’s more than double, sometimes triple the PRICE! THE AGONY! I downloaded a ringtone for my dad’s Verizon phone and just like Pogue said, it was $3.00. THREE FUCKIN DOLLARS! And worst of all, a lot of times you can’t buy a single ringtone, they force you to get 3 or 4 of them in a DAMN PACKAGE! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
And fuck me, they expire?! I had no idea of the expiration until now. How the hell did people complain in the face of this? They should’ve been on their knees when Steve Jobs made the announcement.
Sure there are ways to do it yourself but we’re talking paid services here and iTunes is the cream of the crop.
Custom ringtones are indulgent, and annoying.
I’d love to add them to my iPhone, but……
or you can <a hreg=”http://www.rogueamoeba.com/utm/posts/Article/MakeiPhoneRingtone-2007-09-11-09-00″>Roll Yer Own</A> iPhone Ringtones for free…
ya kno.. just in case you wanted to
remember to always proofread the syntax before hitting return
Free Ringtone Maker for iPhone
I like the idea of custom ringtones, but am I the only one that doesn’t want a song for a ringtone? Or a cute sound like a dog barking or old telephone?
Anyone find the Tony Soprano ringtone. See, that would be clever, subtle and not annoying to others.
I’m surprised that the Music Industry allowed Apple to do custom ringtones at any price. After all they pay a company in China and one in India good money to create the ringtones all the other carriers are selling at $2.00 to $3.00 a pop, most of the time bundled together in a package so, you have to buy 2 or 3 ringtones you don’t want to get the one you do want. So, that $3.00 expiring ringing bundled with the other say 2 ringtones you deleted cost you $9.00 plus tax and download time charges.
Apple has to charge you $0.99 for the song you buy from iTunes and then you create the ringtone you want and the recording industry makes Apple charge you another $0.99 to use the ringtone. So, you have the song and the ringtone forever. I’m sure Apple would have done the ringtones for free if it were not for the recording companies wanting all that extra money to use the songs as a Ringtones.
Ringtones are a rip-off no matter how you cut it, but the Kids spent lots of money on the latest ringtones. Parents if your child has a cellphone and you are paying the bill look for the extra ringtone charges every month, you’ll be amazed at how fast the ringtone charges pile up.
I make my own ringtones, now, even out of protected itunes content. I simply run a 3.5 mm standard stereo cable out of the headphone jack into a y adapter. 1 side goes to my speakers, and the other goes to my line in. Then I can use Garage Band, or if you have windows Audacity to record the line in audio. From there I can add fade in and out, any kind of effect I want, and even select exactly which portion of the track I want to be my ringtone. In fact it works brilliantly on movies and tv shows. Who doesn’t want to take a funny clip from their favorite movies or shows and turn them into ringtones? I haven’t gotten my iphone yet, but I’m sure it will be easy to simply export with the appropriate file suffix and add to my ringtones.
I’m old. There I have said it. And old codgers like me (even when we are very long time Apple users and devotees, and therefore by definition very cool) look at the world in utter bewilderment that so much moronic activity can take place and apparently be so enthusiastically endorsed by so many moronic people.
And of all the utterly incomprehensible moronic activity one can observe every day, surely the growth of the ringtone must stand in a class of its own.
When I read that ‘the ringtone market” is worth $5 billion, I know for sure that the human race is utterly doomed. And I for one, when I see this cretinous behaviour, fuelled, I am so sorry to see, by Apple, have to believe that in fact we do not deserve to live.
I think music ringtones on cell phones are enormously annoying so there is no way I would ever buy a ringtone no matter who sells it. However, I like Apple’s move at showing the rest of the blindfolded public that they are bent over and not using any vasoline.
From the article, “It just makes no sense”.
So little makes any sense, question everything, very little is what it seems. The ringtone market is just one indicator of how sick the ‘western’ culture has become.
Had Sauron discovered the essence of power, the control of money, the control of the power brokers, he would have dispensed with armies. The Brits did it, well if you can call them Brits, when their empire of armies faded they installed an army of bankers and their supporters around the world, trained at Oxbridge to believe in their superiority and to defer to the ‘higher’ authority.
At times it used to be done with food, sieges and famines, that lesser used tool will be used again, the means are being put in to place, the scale will be worldwide. But at the present the people have been seduced with an artificial freedom called ‘freedom of choice’ and it is not freedom at all by any relevant standard.
Why do people even need ringtones, have they lost their senses, if someone familiar is calling do you not know already? If not work to tune the senses not work for the money to buy another ringtone.
Rarely has such madness had such an influence on the world and its people, uniquely the people do not recognize the madness for what it is.
MagicWord ‘doubt’, remember it and use it wisely.
@theloniusmac
“…the mere fact that Apple believes I do not have the right to install ringtones that I create from MY OWN intellectual property is detestable.”
I agree that it’s quite annoying that you can’t “officially” use your own sounds/songs as ringtones, but how do you _know_ that Apple “believes” what you accuse it of? I think Apple would love to have you put any of those things on iPhone if you like, BUT the problem is how to lock that feature down so that it doesn’t create an analog (or even software for that matter) loophole? Those loopholes make the Record Companies squirm.
There is obviously a reason Apple doesn’t shut down the “hackers” and smart users who create and use workarounds; but it’s best not to talk about that.
Fact – If you choose a song snippet to be your ringtone, it is very likely that you already own the song (because you like).
Fact – People were willing to pay another $2 to $3, on top of the cost for the song, to use a snippet as a ringtone. Apparently, it’s a recurring cost.
Fact – With the iPhone, that extra cost is only $1, non-recurring. And you get to create your own snippet. I’d define that as a “bargain.”
If you want ringtones at no extra cost, complain to the recording industry, not Apple. Apple makes money selling hardware, not ringtones. I’m sure it would have made it a free feature (for songs already purchased on iTunes), if Apple could have gotten to rights to use songs as ringtones at no cost.
Wisely spoken, as always, Mithrandir.
How come there are no pictures of me, Middlebronfman, on Google??!
@ TheloniousMac
You said: “On top of that, not only is being forced to pay for something twice an insult of Microsoftian stature, the mere fact that Apple believes I do not have the right to install ringtones that I create from MY OWN intellectual property is detestable.”
I’m on your side really but, if you read the rights accorded to you by the music labels it’s not your intellectual property at all. You have the right to play the music but it is the labels and/or the artists own the music as intellectual property.
Having said that if you were to take a snippet of a song for your own personal use (not to sell it to anyone else) and made a ringtone out of that snippet I don’t see how the labels can legally object.
Now that I have come to terms with losing my right arm in a work related accident, I’m now upset about the cost of my ringtones. Damn, happy one moment – miffed another. Life Life why are you so unfair?
i bought over 200 songs from itunes
i have 7 songs i can make ringtones with.
now that sucks
i dont mind paying for the ringtones, but i want to use what i want to use
and i cant
so i have to make my own
so i guess im cool until the next update
I made my own ringtones for free on my Sprint/Nextel phone. They tell you that you can’t, but there are ways, if you know how.
That phone was the best that they had to offer at the top, and retailed for nearly $400, with no subsidy, and a two year contract.
I bought two.
My plan is actually very good, but my love affair with the phone ended shortly after the honeymoon, and I’m ready to go Scott Peterman on the lousy service.
I apologize in advance for the distasteful remark, but it’s the only way that I can clearly describe my hatred for this awful company.
The only reason that I don’t have an iPhone yet is because I am waiting until my new house is built. Upgrades are expensive, and I don’t want the credit inquiry from switching networks. As soon as I move in though, I’m all over it.
top = time
…grrrr
Zune tang = MDN – ChrissyyOne
Maybe … well I reckon … just maybe that Apple is asking us to pay for ringtones because it appeases the Music Labels, who are, as we know, a bunch of evil bastards.
By agreeing to the evil bastards demands, or having made it a point of concession for negotiations, to appease the evil bastards and allowing them to fleece us.
The contentious point here tho, If you already own the desired tune, and having to pay for it again (for what is essentially only small beer money) the fact remains, it stinks to charge twice.
Does anyone really know if it is legal or not … I read here the other day, that it was because the tune was being broadcast in public, when a mobile rang out on a street, I had trouble believing this, what would this imply for contemporary boom boxes and ghettoblasters that play cd’s and mp3’s when people are down the park or beach, or even the backyard.
What is the legitimate reason to charge twice?
Ok after a quick squizz around Mac Surf, I found this story by good old John Grubber at Daring Fireball – it fills in some of the questions I had.
iToner is great.
Whenever my brother calls, Shatner now screams “Khan!”
I know, I know…
Well if you do consider the fact that Apple is providing the software to let you customize your ringtone the way it does, something NO ONE else does, I’d consider that extra dollar paid above the price for the song itself as being for the added-value service of tweaking the ringtone to your liking.
@Galdalf
That’s a little grandiose for a subject like ringtones, dontcha think? Who’s to decide what people ‘need’ except the people themselves, eh? You? I don’t see the purpose in ringtones myself, but I’m glad I live at a point in history when we’ve got the time and money to bother with them, rather than having to go out and beat some animal to death with a rock to live another day. Capitalism rocks.
I like the ringtone on my phone.
It sounds like an old metal bell telephone ringing.
Simple, no bullshit and it even makes people smile… compared to the idiotic “custom” ringtones people use to irritate any and everyone within hearing range.
If you have, say a 3 second rington, does it play only once or does it repeat? I could see sampling small snippets of music, say a 5 or 6 note trumpet theme… Miles or Bruckner…
Not that I am trying to defend Verizon, but their ringtones do not expire after a year. I have more than one ringtone I have purchased from them and have had them on my phone for over a year. Their ringback tones last for only a year, but that is a different service. That is what the caller hears when they call you. I just think the right facts should be told.
There is absolutely no problem in charging for ringtones. The problem is that people actually buy them.
Buying a ringtone is like getting punched in the face. Only Apple is only punching me 20 times in the face instead of the 50 times by other ringtone pugelists. This is a non-business! But I guess they’re are 5 billion dollars worth of people willing to step into the ring. As my Pappy used to say, “Whatever the market will bear.”
My ringtone is most unique and never fails me, it makes a sound EXACTLY like the sound of my phone ringing, in fact it IS the sound of my phone ringing. It’s never let me down yet.
MDN word – “followed” as in I didn’t never followed the trend.