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For fourth year Business major Amanda Johnson it is male pop sensation Justin Timberlake’s new song, “My Love.” For third year Criminal Justice major America Bailon it is rock diva Gwen Stefani’s “Rich Girl.” The song of choice for third year Computer Engineering major, Michael Bradley is young R&B singer Chris Brown’s hit song, “Gimme That.” These songs may not be these students’ favorite songs, nor are they the song on their Myspace page, but these songs are the ringtones for their cell phones. Music artists such as Gwen Stefani, 50 Cent, U2, and Kanye West are well-known for their hit songs that can be heard everywhere from nightclubs, to dorm rooms, computers, and even cell phones. That’s right, cell phones. Because of the technological abilities of the 21st century, the cell phone craze, and the power of popular music; ringtones have become the new trend. “I just think it is cool and fun to have,” Bailon says while showing off her other ring tones on her T-Mobile Sidekick 2 (nice detail in providing the phone brand). “The normal [ring tones that came with the phone] ringtones are terrible, I don’t like listening to them. I have eight ringtones.” “I have 12 ringtones on my phone,” says Johnson, who has a Verizon Motorola Razr V3. “I love ringtones; I sometimes listen to them when I’m bored.” (Great quote!) “I like [real song] ringtones because it’s like listening to real songs every time someone calls me,” says Bradley, who has a Verizon Treo 650. “I hate listening to the other ring tones [ring tones that come with the phone.] People agree strongly with these three students comments. Ring tones have become very popular over the last two years. In fact, in 2005, ringtones made just under $600 million in revenue, a 20 percent increase from 2004. In that same year, total music revenue sales were down 11 percent to only $12 billion, according to digitalmusicnews.com. According to BMI, Broadcast Music Incorporated, ringtone sales will likely surpass $600 million in 2006 alone. BMI’s database of earnings and titles is believed to be the most comprehensive in the industry “We see the market maturing in 2006 with growth fueled by an increase in multimedia handsets and more aggressive marketing by wireless carriers,” said BMI Vice President of Business Development, Richard Conlon in an article on BMI’s Web site. “We believe that the market will grow by 20% for the ringtone sector alone in '06.” Sales of ringtones took off from 2003 to 2004, creating about a 200 percent sales increase from $245 million to under $500 million, according to BMI. In 2005, 50 Cent’s song, “Candy Shop” was the most bought ringtone, selling 1.9 million copies, according to an article in USA Today by Edna Gundersen. In 2006, Billboard, the organization that charts music sales, started to categorize ringtones in the gold and platinum selling ratings it uses for CD sales. The first ringtone to go platinum, selling one million copies, was rapper Rick Ross’s hit, “Hustlin’,” which has gone on to sell over 1.3 million units. However, rapper Chamillionaire’s hit, “Ridin’ Dirty” has sold 1.5 million ringtones, the most of 2006, according to Billboard.com. Part of the reason real song ringtones are selling at such a rapid rate is the sound quality of current ringtones. When real song ringtones started selling in 2001, it was mainly in polyphonic form, which sound more distorted than a real song. However, later on, real song ringtones started selling as a master tone which sounds just like listening to a CD. “I think the reason ringtones sell so many ringtones is because they are nicer to listen to than the normal ringtones,” says Johnson. Others feel it is a lot simpler than this. “The reason [real song] ringtones are selling so much because it is a fad,” says Bradley. “Everybody thinks it what’s hot so they go and try to get the new ringtone.” Many people would believe that real song ringtones are just for young people, but that is not true. “I have Common’s [music artist] “The Corner” as my ringtone,” says Tifa Boss, Resident Life Coordinator in Joe West Hall, who is in her mid-30s. “I love that song.” With the way the ringtone market is going, it seems it will take a long time before real song ringtones go out of style. Not only are ringtones cheap, about a $1.50 each, they are sold everywhere. MTV, BET, all cell phone providers, and ringtone-only services such as Jamster, sell real song ringtones. In today’s society personalizing things to fit a person’s distinct personality is a must thing to do. This is the reason why Myspace is so in style. This theory also explains why real song ringtones are in style. “I have [Gwen Stefani’s] “Rich Girl” as a ringtone because it’s just like me,” says Bailon. “I feel like a rich girl.” Related Links: Back to Orange Journalism Home Page Orange Journalism: |
