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."

Comments

nothing to worry about

[mister_jpeg]

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.

Great.

[saintlupus]

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

sure, you may say IANAL as long as you want

[codazzo]

but you're gonna get *so sued* when Apple patents the name for its oh-so-cute white vibrator.
iAnal, that is .*)

Re:Overpriced

[Patrik_AKA_RedX]

Why pay twice?

Because the poor shareholders need money. Don't you have any idea how expensive a ferrari, big house with pool, trips to various locations and a fourth wifes's boob job is? You should sympatise a bit with their situation.

Re:So

[Hogwash McFly]

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...

Re:This is why...

[anticypher]

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