A quick Google search will produce countless
articles trying to understand the popularity
of 'ringtones'; hundreds of bloggers waxing
lyrical on the benefits of personalising
their cell phones. Interviews with "experts"
profering sexy theories about ringtones
and identity construction lend an academic
seriousness to the Crazy Frog phenomena.
The figures are pretty serious too, in
the U.S.A. alone, the Yankee Group predicts,
ringtones will be worth $500 million.
That's roughly the GDP of Fiji.
Obviously our cell phones needs a voice,
but does that voice need to be a polyphonic
adaptation of 'Living on a Prayer'?
The latest figures indicate that young
people are the greatest consumers of mobile
music. According to one UK survey, 15-24
year olds account for 80% of ringtone
spending. Studies by Nick Anderson of
Sussex University show that young people
are far more aware of the "brand personalty"
(the particular identity affiliated with
certain brands) than older generations.
Anderson suggests that teenagers can deduce
a person's character, likes and dislikes,
by their branded possessions. Considering
the amount of branding in the music industry,
it's not unreasonable to say that popular
musicians have their own "brand personality".
So, your 50 Cent ringtone, for example,
communicates not only a your taste in
music, but also your compliance to the
whole 'Fiddy' meme. Ultimately, for brand
savvy youth, this says something about
your personality, which, you hope, everybody
within earshot understands.
If a cell phone rings in the woods but
nobody is around to hear it, are you still
down with 50 Cent? Ringtones are about
personalization, and about public performance.
The publicness of the ringtone is an integral
part of its appeal. It's unlikely that
anyone would have a ringtone on their
landline. In a noisy urban soundscape
like the city, silence is an anomaly.
Personalised ringtones are simply another
irritating sound in the hullabaloo. Most
of us manage tune out the sounds imposed
on us: muzak, hawkers, traffic, the O'Reily
factor, so why try and impose yet another
squawk? Perhaps the ringtone is the audio
equivalent of territorial pissing; thirty
seconds in which YOU pick the soundtrack.
For a few moments when your cell phone
rings the 50 Cent meme is the most powerful
in the sonic environment. Where "Fiddy"
is relatively redundant as a social force,
certain ringtones allow citizens to demonstrate
their dissatisfaction or support of a
cause. Independent radio station WFMU
have created a variety of anti- George
W. Bush ringtones available for download,
while engadget.com
allows users to choose their preferred
presidential candidate ringtone. Condemning
other commuters to several cycles of 50
Cent, the theme from 'Star Wars' or a
Dubya quote demonstrates your individual
tastes and allows others distinguish you
as either nemesis or brethren.
In our efforts to relieve poverty, impede
environmental disaster or cure the global
AIDs epidemic, ringtones are totally and
utterly useless. When it comes to enforcing
the myth that every individual is special,
the artificial uniqueness of a personalized
ringtone is just the ticket. Paradoxically,
this demonstration of individualism is
only really effective in a crowd. As far
as this writer's concerned the real purpose
of ringtones lies in their ridiculousness.
A recent gathering of sensible adults
turned to hilarity thanks to an improvised
game of "Name that tune". Using Foovely's
ringtone preview function, those gathered
took turns choosing snippets of songs
for the party to guess. Recognising a
song in 30 seconds is SO much harder in
monophone!
This article was posted on December
08, 2005
