Law enforcement officials initially wanted to bring the law down on everyone who downloaded the ring tone, but since that number has reached into the millions, reports say they may go after the ring tone creators instead.
Nothing so politically scandalous has occurred in the United States, though a few might raise eyebrows over the poor imitation of Clinton saying, "I did not inhale" or a phony Schwarzenegger talking about "Girlie Men" every time the phone rings. During the 2004 election, users could show their support for Kerry, Bush or Nader with a ring tone that stated the candidate's name and that he "approved this message."
Over the past few years, ring tones have become an integral part of pop culture as well. After new technology appeared allowing actual clips of music to be used, called "true tone" or "real tone," music as a cell phone ring became the norm, so much so that in 2004, Billboard introduced an official weekly Hot Ring tones chart.
Billboard publisher John Kilcullen said the new chart reflected "the growth, innovation and success of the rapidly growing mobile music market."
At the end of May, one ring tone skipped to the top of the UK Singles charts, outselling UK band Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" 4-to-1 in its opening week. The "Crazy Frog" ring tone continues to ride the chart – a combo of "Axel F" (the "Beverly Hills Cop" theme song), a 17-year-old Swede imitating a moped engine and a amphibian-like creature with webbed feet and a white helmet – and, like the "Dancing Baby" from the late '90s, continues to be an Internet phenomenon.
Globally speaking, research shows that ring tones will be a $3 billion market at the end of 2005. A recent survey by the Yankee Group said the . market will bring in around $250 million this year, a small but growing number compared with other more cell phone savvy countries like the UK and Japan.
Yankee Group Senior Analyst Linda Barabee said that while forecasts say ring tones will be a billion-dollar market for the United States in five years, there's still a ways to go.
"The market for data services has been primarily about messaging, and ring tones are the second most popular application," Barabee said. "From a value perspective, the market is just starting to become more widely entrenched."
Virgin Mobile is one such company that deals heavily in digital music tracks for cell phones. The company has a youth-driven business that carries 8 percent of the cell phone market. "It's high because our customers like the extras – and the ring tones," Virgin Mobile spokesperson Ann D'agostino said.
Many of these ring tones seem to come directly from the Top 40 music charts. For instance, as of this week, the top five downloaded ring tones are Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together," Pretty Ricky's "Grind with Me," Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," 50 Cent's "Just a Lil Bit" and Webbie's "Give Me That." Four of those tunes are in the top 10 on this week's Billboard singles chart.
For those willing to pay the higher prices for the newer, better-sounding music tracks, new software lets users delve into the ultimate customization – creating their own ring tones from their own MP3s. The software is called Ring Factory, and after downloading it into a PC or Mac, users can create a ring from any part of a favorite song, as opposed to just the first few notes of a song. The service doesn't charge per download, but allows annual or semi-annual payments for unlimited usage.
The appeal of buying ring tones goes beyond a one-time fad or gimmick. Barabee said that for users, a specialized ring tone equals the ultimate personalization.
"Think about it, the phone is about you … if I download a ring tone and put it on my phone, it says something about me," she said. "Other things that you can do with your phone that won't make as loud of a message — people take pictures with a camera phone that they wouldn't necessary send to someone else."
Also, Barabee says that people are very aware of the fact that they can download a ring tone. The same Yankee Group survey said 63 percent of mobile consumers knew they could add a specialized ring to their tone, even if they had never done so themselves.
So far, multiple surveys show younger mobile phone users have taken to the ring tone customization trend. Marketing analysis firm Consect found, in 2004, that half of all cell phone users between the ages of 15 and 30 had downloaded a ring tone at least once.
"We ask consumers about additional spending [for mobile phones]," Barabee said. "It seems as if ring tones are a broadly horizontal application – they're in the top five services for the under-45 segment. Start to get into the more pragmatic older segment, where they're more concerned with staying connected and getting e-mail, it doesn't register as much."
