ABSTRACT
The use of mobile ringtones is a worldwide phenomenon that shows no sign of letting up any time soon. It is only going to get bigger and bigger until personalized ringtones become absolutely ubiquitous, if they aren't already. Ringtones are popular because they are a direct expression of that most egregious of the seven deadly sins: vanity. Most importantly, consumers will buy ringtones in unbelievable numbers. The consumer has spoken: People absolutely love annoying ringtones and the annoying effect that they have on everybody else around them; otherwise, they would not spend so much money on them, would they? The real money is in real music, meaning digital audio clips of recognizable songs. And since pay-by-the-megabyte accounting is also quickly being superseded by flat-rate all-can-eat data plans, the carriers are in danger of losing out on ringtones as well. The situation, with multiple proprietary ringtones formats and everybody trying to get a little piece of the action, is guaranteed to be temporary.
