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Cell Phone Ringtones Give Music Industry Another Headache
Alien54 writes "Xingtone's desktop software allows you to create mobile phone ringtones using digital audio files on your computer. As seen here, The software evokes the same ``oh wow, oh no'' reaction from the labels that greeted the original Napster. The fear is that people will make 30 second long ringtones out of popular songs, thus compounding the file-sharing problem while robbing the music industry of a new source of revenue. Many users find the technology quite cool. IANAL, but current copyright guidelines seem to permit fair use of "Up to 10% of a body of sound recording, but no more than 30 seconds". All of which should make for an interesting legal debate. I can hear the gnashing of teeth already."
30 secs of Wayne Newton as a ringtone... what will the music industry do?!
- Your stupidity got you into this mess, why can't it get you out? -Will Rogers
I predict the phenonmenon of making ringtones out of the latest teen pop will fade quickly as more and more annoying idiots are beaten to death with their own phones. It's happened in isolated incidents before but now we'll have critical mass.
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I can't wait to put my latest composition "A Passage of Wind" on my phone!
Yeah, because "Classical Music Butchered Beyond Hope" isn't obnoxious enough. I work at a college. I can't wait for every shitty pop song to be blaring out of some asshat's saggy A&F jeans during class when his roommate's older brother calls to say he got the beer.
Fucking christ. You know the only people that use this are going to be people infatuated with dreadful pop music. It's the same phenomenon as loud car stereos -- I don't think I've ever pulled up to someone with a thumping car at a traffic light and thought, "Oh, good, I really like this song."
--saint
"That oxygen is ours. We paid for it. It's used to create the high quality music you find at your local vendor. If we find anyone using or sharing that oxygen we'll have no choice but to seek reparations in court. We don't like to be heavy handed, we're just protecting our clients."
I'm waiting for them to hit this stage...then maybe they'll finally run out of things to bitch about..
That way Xingtone will be mad about people ripping off their idea to rip off the music industry.
You can't fault the RIAA for trying to soak the maximum value out of everything they do, that's just plain the nature of greed and we all have it to some degree.
Still, we just have to be organized enough to realize when they're asking us to repay for a song when we can just do the format shifts on our own.
but you're gonna get *so sued* when Apple patents the name for its oh-so-cute white vibrator. .*)
iAnal, that is
Could the labels claim that Xington has reverse engineered or cracked the process for uploading ring tones?
I personally hate ringtones, even in the office some nut has beethoven beeping and booping... what's wrong with vibrate?
I'm just going to add a small speaker to my personal stereo player and have it play short pieces of music while I watch everyone reach for their phone to see if it's ringing.
...part of me hopes the RIAA can ban this. I am so @#$% sick of having to listen to long, annoying song clip ringtones erupting out of coworkers cubes at maximum volume, especially when they aren't there and left their cellphone on their desk, and it just plays over and over and over...
Well, for a lot of people, it only takes 1 second to announce the fact that your phone is ringing and the other 29 seconds to show everybody that you have a mobile phone, that you have the latest pop ringtone and that someone is calling you...
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
... has ruled that RIAA does have the right to install microphones and automated tune-recognition systems on sidewalks, hiking trails and hallways througohout the US to 'identify and prosecute lawbreakers' who violate their copyrights by whistling, humming or singing copyrighted songs without permission.
In its ruling, the Court agreed with the precedent cited by RIAA, their successful case against the Girl Scouts and Campfire Girls for royalties accrued as a result of girls singing 'Kumbaya', 'Happy Birthday' and other popular songs around the campfire.
It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
Don't you have any idea how expensive a ferrari, big house with pool, trips to various locations...
Yes. Yes I do.
I'm not a journalist, but I play one on slashdot
I made my own ring tone.
It's a 14.4k modem training sequence. Beeeep-dooop braaap-beeep-beep-bip braaaaaappppppppp scrreeeeeeeeeee(for 25 seconds).
My phone has been banned from every telecom facility in the Benelux. On the downside, every time I hear somebody still using an analog modem I check my phone.
the AC
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
When your mobile phone rings, it's often in a "place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered". So if your phone ever rings in a public place, then under U.S. copyright law's definition of "publicly" (17 USC 101), causing your phone to play a copyrighted work whenever a call comes in amounts to performing the work publicly. Copyright law also gives the owner of copyright in a musical work a monopoly on authorizing such public performances (17 USC 106) subject to limitations listed later in the title.
While this is a neat idea, I keep mine on vibrate, just because I know how annoying a music ringtone is when its someone elses
yes and when its on vibrate you dont even need to answer just leave in you pocket, smile calmly and try not to stain the upholstery
If you do only take 10% of the song, then perhaps you should only pay 10% of the cost of a single?
Anyway, so much of pop music samples short parts, robs bits of older tracks or is just a plain remix, then who's actually losing out?
Has anyone patented the business model of the RIAA (sue teenagers into submission claiming theft of IP, but don't actually pay all the artists what they are owed)? 'Cos it'd be a very valuable patent - more so than Amazon's half-click one!
What if I am using an European carryall?
The fear is that people will make 30 second long ringtones out of popular songs.
I fear that too...
For me it takes 1 second to announce the fact that I have a call, and then 29 seconds to remember I own a mobile, and then remember where I put it.
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