We mentioned in our cheap ringtones post that Apple will soon be entering the ringtone business, but I think it deserves a post all by itself. iTunes will shortly be updated, and one of the new features will be the ability to create 30 second ringtones from any of 1 million 'ringtone ready' songs from the iTunes Store (the available ringtone songs are marked with a little bell).
Click on a ringtone ready song in iTunes, use the new ringtone editor to create a 30 second clip of the song (including setting the duration of the gap during the loop), and your ringtone is ready. Ready for you to buy it that is. $.99 is what it will cost you to get that ringtone, which is in addition to the cost of the full track (though if you already own the track you can just buy the ringtone).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-05-2007 @ 7:33PM
Tucker said...
Not that I have an iPhone, nor would I ever intend to use the ringtone service, but out of curiosity:
Once purchased, can you re-clip a different section of the song, or if you decide you want a different part will you need to fork over another buck? Any word on that?
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9-05-2007 @ 7:39PM
carl said...
It's funny that KT Tunstall's song is not available as a ringtone in this example... and she was at the event!
Carl
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9-05-2007 @ 8:01PM
Mike said...
Apparently it's the initial $0.99 for the song plus $0.99 *PER* ringtone you make from it.
I might have missed it, but does anyone know when this feature will be available? Whether it's sometime today, this month, the next itunes update, etc?
I do wish we could make them from our existing library though. The vocal Katamari Damacy theme would make the perfect ringtone and clocks in at just under 30 seconds.
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9-05-2007 @ 8:09PM
Retro_X said...
That kinda sucks that we have to pay for the ringtones. I could make free ones on my RAZR :(
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9-05-2007 @ 8:13PM
Will said...
It sucks you can't just buy a ringtone if you don't already own the song :(
It also sorta surprises me that Apple would make people pay for ringtones when they know a plethora of free iPhone ringtone services exist. Those free apps aren't illegal, are they?
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9-05-2007 @ 8:21PM
Seth Burnett said...
Can you freely make ringtones out of songs that are in your library but NOT purchased from iTunes? (like ripped from a CD, etc)
I hope so. Steve never said you couldn't but never said you could either.
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9-05-2007 @ 8:25PM
RobW said...
Ever since getting my Motorola SLVR (moved from a 3+ year old phone) I've just used Audacity to record and export parts of tracks to use as ringtones, surely you can just do this?
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9-05-2007 @ 8:27PM
Richard said...
Today is the day that historians will cite as the "Day Apple Died". I really think they jumped the shark today, and this system of pay ringtones only is just more proof of that.
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9-05-2007 @ 8:36PM
blinkcowz182 said...
@8
I'd feel pretty confident in saying that this wasn't Apple's play as it was the record companies. I'm sure they want any source of income they can get, include cutting songs down. Apple probably had to fight to get it this low. This also could explain why only part of the iTunes catalog is available for ringtone creating...
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9-05-2007 @ 8:37PM
Corey at the Iconfactory said...
Does anyone actually think it was Apple who decided we had to pay for ringtones?
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9-05-2007 @ 9:14PM
Jeff said...
Apple can kiss my ass if they think I'll pay again to use part of a song I've already bought as a ringtone.
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9-05-2007 @ 9:21PM
JR said...
Seems like a rip off, but I guess for those who don't want to hack their iphones, it's better than nothing.
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9-05-2007 @ 9:31PM
Jeff said...
Jumped the Shark is right.
Apple have really dropped on my scale as well.
The new rallying cry of all former Apple early adopters should be:
"Remember the iPhone!"
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9-05-2007 @ 9:31PM
supersalo said...
I have it on good authority that this is NOT Apple's idea to charge $0.99 per ringtone. You can blame the record companies for that.
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9-05-2007 @ 9:33PM
Jeff said...
I don't believe that, especially if it came from Apple.
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9-05-2007 @ 9:36PM
BrainTrust said...
I never paid less than $2 for a ring tone on Sprint, and I had several of their phones. There are two ways to put it:
1. Steve Jobs/Record companies are greedy. Why should we have to pay $0.99 just to make a song we already OWN a ring tone?
-or-
2. For $2, you get a full song AND you can make a ring tone out of it.
My first thought was option 1, and I was mad... Ill give you that. But its hard to get pissed at option 2 when I was sometimes paying $2.99 for a ring tone I couldn't even preview with Sprint, let alone choose the format and section of the song.
For all that care, it sounds like the iTunes update is coming sometimes tonight, while the ringtone service wont be active until sometime next week. You'll hear that if you watch the full Keynote
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9-05-2007 @ 9:44PM
CaptainWrong said...
If it wasn't for the fact that other phone services let you download tunes and then use those as ringtones with no additional charge, I'd believe the "evil RIAA companies squeezing blood from stones" theory. As it stand, this sure smells like money for both Apple and the record companies.
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9-05-2007 @ 9:48PM
Mark said...
If you want to blame someone, blame copyright law. Even if you buy a song or CD, the law does not allow you to modify or change that song in any way - even to sample a 30 second clip to use as a ringtone.
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9-05-2007 @ 9:58PM
Rusty Boyer said...
It will be interesting to see how many iPhone users buy into this worthless service, especially after so many of us have been taken for a $200 ride by Mr. Jobs already.
I have not, nor will I ever, pay ANYTHING for a freakin' ringtone! The iPhone's included ringtones are much better than those included with other phones. It's just a freaking ringtone for God's sake!
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9-05-2007 @ 10:14PM
Seth Burnett said...
Has anyone been able to download the new iTunes 7.4 yet? I thought he said tonight and its getting to be night....
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