Apple rushing to release "ready-made ringtones" - report

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple is rumored to have struck a deal with the music industry and obtained the right to sell "ready-made ringtones," and company officials are reportedly rushing to have them available for next week's event.



Music industry sources reportedly told CNet that Apple will announce and begin to sell pre-cut ringtones at its press event Sept. 9, if they can be prepped to sell in time. In 2007, iTunes granted users the ability to create their own custom ringtones with certain enabled song. The feature cost 99 cents to select a 30-second segment for ringtone playback on the iPhone.



Given that most individual songs on iTunes sell for 99 cents in their entirety, to charge anything above that for just a section of the song might seem odd. However, consumers in the past have shown a willingness to spend up to $3 on a ringtone. The report did not have a final price on ringtones available, but did say the song clips are expected to sell for "far less than $3."



While the pre-cut ringtone feature is technically new, it will not likely be a large announcement for Apple at its Sept. 9 iPod-centric event. Not only are custom ringtones already available on iTunes, but CNet noted that sales of ringtones dropped 24 percent from 2007 to 2008, likely due to the fact that users have figured out how to make their own from pre-purchased songs.



In another music industry-related announcement expected for Wednesday's event, Apple reportedly began collaborating with major labels months ago on a new project code-named "Cocktail," aimed to spur sales of whole albums. Rumors have suggested the new feature would offer lyrics, photos and supplemental material through a separate application that could be viewed outside of iTunes.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    there's a very slightly minor typo in the first paragraph:



    "industry and has obtained the right to sell "ready-made ringtones,""





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple is rumored to have struck a deal with the music industry and has obtained the right to sell "read-made ringtones," and company officials are reportedly rushing to have them available for next week's event.



    Music industry sources reportedly told CNet that Apple will announce and begin to sell pre-cut ringtones at its press event Sept. 9, if they can be prepped to sell in time. In 2007, iTunes granted users the ability to create their own custom ringtones with certain enabled song. The feature cost 99 cents to select a 30-second segment for ringtone playback on the iPhone.



    Given that most individual songs on iTunes sell for 99 cents in their entirety, to charge anything above that for just a section of the song might seem odd. However, consumers in the past have shown a willingness to spend up to $3 on a ringtone. The report did not have a final price on ringtones available, but did say the song clips are expected to sell for "far less than $3."



    While the pre-cut ringtone feature is technically new, it will not likely be a large announcement for Apple at its Sept. 9 iPod-centric event. Not only are custom ringtones already available on iTunes, but CNet noted that sales of ringtones dropped 24 percent from 2007 to 2008, likely due to the fact that users have figured out how to make their own from pre-purchased songs.



    In another music industry-related announcement expected for Wednesday's event, Apple reportedly began collaborating with major labels months ago on a new project code-named "Cocktail," aimed to spur sales of whole albums. Rumors have suggested the new feature would offer lyrics, photos and supplemental material through a separate application that could be viewed outside of iTunes.



  • Reply 2 of 30
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    I will not spend more than $0.50 on a ringtone, I can buy the full song for about $0.99 and use Garageband to make the tone, so why buy? is your time really worth the $2 for the whopping 30 seconds it takes to round trip into GB and export ringtone?
  • Reply 3 of 30
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    I think the record labels should lobby congress to pass a law that all ringtones are now illegal, except for the ones the labels sell for $10,000 apiece.



    C'mon - the swimming pool needs a refill of Himalayan fog condensate and that stuff is expensive to transport by jet...
  • Reply 4 of 30
    "...sales of ringtones dropped 24 percent from 2007 to 2008, likely due to the fact that users have figured out how to make their own from pre-purchased songs..."



    Or perhaps it's that the fad is passing as people realize how asinine it is to use a pop song as a ringtone. One can only hope.
  • Reply 5 of 30
    takeotakeo Posts: 445member
    Song and musical ringtones should be banned anyway.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    galleygalley Posts: 971member
    Marimba is good enough for me.
  • Reply 7 of 30
    My theory: people are increasingly texting instead of calling. People who normally would buy a ring tone are thinking again because a larger percentage of beeps and clunks on their phone are SMS alerts, not phone calls. Simple, really. Why buy a ring tone you rarely hear?
  • Reply 8 of 30
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by universeman View Post


    My theory: people are increasingly texting instead of calling. People who normally would buy a ring tone are thinking again because a larger percentage of beeps and clunks on their phone are SMS alerts, not phone calls. Simple, really. Why buy a ring tone you rarely hear?



    Excellent insight.



    I also believe that people have simply broken the code. They know how to do it, even on the PC and on phones other than the iPhone. Every one I know who has a music ringtone tells me they know ways to do it without paying. The same thing is starting to happen with text as more programs are released to get around the charges. I canceled my text plan months ago and have been using a third party app.
  • Reply 9 of 30
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    iPods with rinky dink cameras.

    iTunes with Blu-ray support yet no Blu-ray hardware.

    Ringtones.



    Coma.
  • Reply 10 of 30
    vandilvandil Posts: 187member
    Any idiot with a Quicktime Pro license can take a DRM-less purchase, crop it down to a ringtone, export the audio to WAV, then use iTunes to convert the WAV to AAC, and then simply rename the file to an M4R file. Takes like 3 minutes unless you are super anal about getting the ringtone cropped to a perfect loop.



    Likewise with any FLV file saved from youtube.
  • Reply 11 of 30
    I honestly hate the music ones. Can't tell if the phone is ringing or it's the radio your listening to. Although iphoneringpack.com has some worth getting... "Pick up the dam phone!" and the sirens always got my attention.
  • Reply 12 of 30
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Is there any way to get my iPhone to vibrate stronger?
  • Reply 13 of 30
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jsewell View Post


    "...sales of ringtones dropped 24 percent from 2007 to 2008, likely due to the fact that users have figured out how to make their own from pre-purchased songs..."




    Or perhaps it's that the fad is passing as people realize how asinine it is to use a pop song as a ringtone. One can only hope.



    Agreed, Speaking of 'asinine,' am I the only one that thinks 'high fives' look asinine?
  • Reply 14 of 30
    I noticed on itunes that the John Fogerty album, The Blue Ridge Rangers, had a special digital booklet that would download if you bought the whole album. Is that a preview of the bonus features we can expect?
  • Reply 15 of 30
    Just make the ringtone in iTunes in about 60 seconds by changing the start/stop times to a file, encoding an MP3 version, renaming it a .M4r, and importing.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post


    I noticed on itunes that the John Fogerty album, The Blue Ridge Rangers, had a special digital booklet that would download if you bought the whole album. Is that a preview of the bonus features we can expect?



    I bought Wynton Marsalis' From the Plantation to the Penitentiary, and it came with a digital cd insert. It's nothing new as I bought it years ago. But I agree, that has something to do with the new announcement.
  • Reply 17 of 30
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    iPods with rinky dink cameras.

    iTunes with Blu-ray support yet no Blu-ray hardware.

    Ringtones.



    Coma.







    Yeah. Sounds like a yawn festival to me, too. But I hope Apple folks have something up their sleeves!
  • Reply 18 of 30
    cmf2cmf2 Posts: 1,427member
    Some people bought $3 ringtones because certain cell carriers locked some of their phones to not allow unprotected mp3's to be used as ringtones. Only their DRM riddled mp3 ringtones would work.... I'm looking at you Bell. Funny, they also took a pre-installed map program off my phone because it wasn't time for us Canadians to be exposed to GPS. Glad I'm no longer with them.
  • Reply 19 of 30
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rygriffin333 View Post


    Just make the ringtone in iTunes in about 60 seconds by changing the start/stop times to a file, encoding an MP3 version, renaming it a .M4r, and importing.



    Exactly what I was going to say. Since iTunes 8 you can make your own ringtones out of any of your music for free, and it's not very hard and works for both PC and Mac. CHeck out the link and save some money.



    http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10056954-12.html



    While I would never pay for a music ring tone, I would like to find some decent non-music tones that don't sound stupid. Who wants a barking dog or a drunk robot sound for their ringtone?
  • Reply 20 of 30
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jozsoo View Post






    Yeah. Sounds like a yawn festival to me, too. But I hope Apple folks have something up their sleeves!



    Me too. Bring out Steve Jobs and his Fab Tab!
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