Apple's Ringtone Plan a Go or a Rumor?

[Michael Essany]

Image via blogcdn

We're bound to hear a lot of crazy rumors and speculation between now and Apple's press conference next week.

The latest but maybe not-so-crazy-buzz is that Apple has "obtained the rights to offer ready-made ringtones for the iPhone," according to what music industry sources tell CNET News.

Apple is expected to announce the availability of pre-cut ringtones made from popular music tracks at next week’s media event on September 9.

For music junkies like myself, this news - if it proves legit - would be huge. Not only could this development amount to some degree of savings, such an offering would now make the iPhone ringtone experience a significantly more convenient one. After all, its easier to look forward to pizza when you know you don't have to cook and and slice it first. Although pizzas and ringtone are difficult to pair in analogies, Apple is making it easier to do so on the heels of this potetial announcement.

Although some critics on more than a few message boards I frequent were quick to deride the alleged "pre-cut ringtone" plan as lame for an Apple event, CNET had the ultimate comeback for such a criticism:

Apple can’t be expected to put a ding in the universe with every single press conference; maybe what we’ll get next week will only amount to “Hey, Look – Ringtones!”

If all we get - in addition to iPod upgrades and an updated iTunes - is a new ringtone regiment, I think that would still make for a lot of happy campers in the Apple fan club. Although there is no word yet on the price of these pre-cut ringtones, we know they will likely cost considerably less than the $2 or $3 we currently spend on some songs only to then have to slice and dice the ringtones ourselves. This development, if anything, will also likely give a renewed boost to the ringtone industry which is said to be on the decline after a few years of record sales and exponential growth.

As indicated in the CNET report, SNL Kagan, a research firm, indicates that ringtone sales dropped from $714 million in '07 to $541 million in '08.

No matter which way you slice it, September 9th is shaping up to be a music and multimedia-driven event for Apple. And although the company has big expectations to live up to, they've never really had problems doing so before. I doubt they will now.

[kingskid07]

I'm still sour that the ONE ringtone I purchased disappeared after an itunes update a few versions ago

[JStraitiff]

i dont see any reason why "ready made" ring tones wouldn't be allowed when they are able to profit already from the full songs and they offer /wizard/ for trimming the songs for ring tones and make another $0.99 off of that.

for me i prefer the ability to cut down songs my self. for metal fans like myself, we might like certain parts of the song more than others (unlike pop where the only good part is the chorus). The current system is so efficient in fact, that i have absolutely no problem paying an extra $0.99 for a song i already own. im not going to use it every time... but it is much better than limiting us to prepaid.

I'm still sour that the ONE ringtone I purchased disappeared after an itunes update a few versions ago

^^ check your itunes folders and see if the m4r file is still lingering around and just didnt get added back in.

Mac: ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Music/Ringtones

if its there just add it to the library again

[CaptainChaos]

This will be great for all of the users out there that can't be bothered with creating their own ringtones. I see this making Apple and the artists some major money.

[jredd81]

Who pays for ringtones when you can make them for free yourself on other websites?

[MetallicaFan1991]

I'm not paying for a stupid ringtone on top of the song that I may have bought.

[CaptainChaos]

Most people aren't like us So there are huge masses of people that pay for ringtones. $500-800 million dollars a year in sales is no joke.

[rwin84]

AnyRing 3.99. Make a ringtone on your phone from any song in your library. Thats what i use but, itunes based access would be nice for the general populus.

[Kwaks]

Agreed. I'd just assume pick the parts of the song I like and then rename the .m4a file .m4r. If updates remove that ability in liew of Apple's profit margin, I could be stuck on 3.0.1 and iTunes 8.2 for awhile.

[rockjohn]

itoner rocks

[ifonemaniac]

Ringtones...oh THANK YOU APPLE. Now I can get rid of iRinger. The ringtone maker I've been using for almost a year now. /sarcasm

If you guys want the best legit, FREE, easy ringtone maker get iRinger. You can even download videos from YouTube take the .flv and cut it up. Advanced features such as fade in and fade out require a donation but it's something you can definitely live without.

iRinger :: iPhone Ringtone Factory [iPhone Ringtone, iPhone Ringtones, iPhone Ringtone Maker, iPhone Ringtone Creator] You're welcome.

P.S. No I'm not a PR for iRinger

[Ydenyse]

I also use iRinger. Why not charge for wallpapers too Apple?

[andypropaganda]

I'd rather cut the ringtone myself. I hate preselected ringtones. Either way though, I'd prefer them free. I think that iTunes should just have a way to cut songs no matter where they came from.

[Melech518]

If you have a Mac it is so simple to create ringtones in Garageband. There is even the menu option "send ringtone to itunes"....

[dale1v]

Yeah, forget paying for ringtones, Garageband it all lol

[kingskid07]

^^ check your itunes folders and see if the m4r file is still lingering around and just didnt get added back in.

Mac: ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Ringtones

if its there just add it to the library again

Dooooooode!!!!! You Rock!!!!! Thanks LOL!!!

[D to the M]

Yeah, forget paying for ringtones, Garageband it all lol

yeah, i got unlimited free ringtones when i got my imac. its called garage band.

learn it

love it

[ronblade]

That is a great news. I am expecting for apple for such a good step. I wish they go more far and succeed more and more. New music tracks in ringtones will definitely work and people are going to buy them for sure.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

If you visit this forum, this announcement isn't for you.

[karlreed2]

If you have a Mac it is so simple to create ringtones in Garageband. There is even the menu option "send ringtone to itunes"....

Garageband is definitely the easiest!!! I love having control over my ringtones!!!