Online sound snippets intended to help market ring tones sold by phone operators and other distributors often are illegally downloaded and used free of charge, a new study found.
Cell phone operators and ring tone sellers typically make available on their Web sites ring tone previews of 15 to 30 seconds. But almost 40 percent of cell phone operators and nearly a third of independent ring tone sellers don't secure the previews, which can be downloaded onto a personal computer, then changed into a usable ring tone, according to the study.
Almost two-thirds of the 100 Web sites checked offered previews that were suitably long to make a ring tone, according to research by Qpass, a digital-content distributor based in Seattle.
Ring tones, recorded sound segments that replace a cell phone's prepackaged ringer, are typically priced at $1 each. Shoplifted ring tones have so far cost cell phone operators and other ring tone sellers about $40 million in lost revenue, while lost revenue from ring tone shoplifting will total $123 million by 2007, the study predicted.
"This is the mobile and cyber equivalent of test-driving a car and then not having to give it back," Qpass senior vice president Steve Shivers said. "The amount of revenue loss to both the mobile and music industries is a concern."
Representatives of the cellular trade organization Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association did not return calls Wednesday seeking comment on the study. The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents major recording interests, declined to comment.
Anyone should be able with a little ingenuity convert their existing music files to a compatible ringtone. Why pay? My phone uses WMA files for ringtones so I just convert any audio to that format and viola, ringtone.
I don't understand why anyone would pay up to $3 for a song snippet for their phone ringer.
Who in gods green earth would pay £2 for a ringtone, when it just encourages those annoying adverts on tv and some of those ringtones just drive you up the wall. my phone accepts mp3's and you can allow them to be used as ringtones (sony e s700i) all i need to do is bluetooth them from my powerbook and presto. all the songs that i use i own. on another note the same phone from vodaphone has that feature turned off... i wonder why?
... is an exercise for idiots. But I guess that still leaves a lot of customers out there. And a matching number of idiot providers, who think that every ring tone they don't sell is a rip off. Actually, from what I hear, buying a ring tone can be a major rip off with hidden and recurring charges.
Makes me wonder if I should get rid of my cell phone...... if I could find it, ...... or wanted to.
Suppose I download/buy a $2 ringtone, and I leave a duplication macro on overnight on my 1TB drive array just for the hell of it. If the ringtones are 100KB each, I've just cost them $20 million in revenue. Somebody put me in jail already!
... without the guardhouse lawyers and their inane versions of law. Somebody ought to get these budding shysters into a closet and stuff copyright law up their...whatever. Then maybe they'll quit the stupidity and make an actually intelligent comment.
Does a grocer cry "lost revenue" when someone eats the free stuff the grocer hands out, but doesn't buy it? No, that's called the "unfortunate" side of the marketing penetration equation.
Bunch of whiney crybabies. Try working for a living...
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I don't understand why anyone would pay up to $3 for a song snippet for their phone ringer.
encourages those annoying adverts on tv and some of those
ringtones just drive you up the wall. my phone accepts mp3's and
you can allow them to be used as ringtones (sony e s700i) all i need
to do is bluetooth them from my powerbook and presto. all the
songs that i use i own. on another note the same phone from
vodaphone has that feature turned off... i wonder why?
customers out there. And a matching number of idiot providers,
who think that every ring tone they don't sell is a rip off. Actually,
from what I hear, buying a ring tone can be a major rip off with
hidden and recurring charges.
Makes me wonder if I should get rid of my cell phone...... if I could
find it, ...... or wanted to.
Someone steals 20 ringtones and puts them on their phone.
"Oh NOOOOOO, we've lost $40 in revenue" says the cell phone company.
What a load of crap. The guy wouldn't have bought even 1 ringtone.
Should he have used the ringtones without paying? No. Did anyone lose revenue? No.
Suppose I download/buy a $2 ringtone, and I leave a duplication macro on overnight on my 1TB drive array just for the hell of it. If the ringtones are 100KB each, I've just cost them $20 million in revenue. Somebody put me in jail already!
"This is the mobile and cyber equivalent of test-driving a car and then not having to give it back,"
And that is the human equivalent of an idiot talking out of his ass. Refer to my first paragraph as to why this is.
Somebody ought to get these budding shysters into a closet and
stuff copyright law up their...whatever. Then maybe they'll quit the
stupidity and make an actually intelligent comment.
the grocer hands out, but doesn't buy it? No, that's called the
"unfortunate" side of the marketing penetration equation.
Bunch of whiney crybabies. Try working for a living...