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1. Pay the 1 friggen dollar to get the ringtone.

People amaze me. Downright amaze me. ITS ONE DOLLAR!

Lets see - spend an hour of my time - buy software I don't need, give myself a headache. But hey, I saved enough money to buy a Snickers bar and I 'Stuck it to the Man' - yeeha.


Too ***** funny!! "Stick it to the Man"......LOVE IT!!! Now back to your regularly scheduled program (Deadliest Catch).
 
fine, kill the monster. but how are musicians supposed to be paid? You gonna stop stealing their music?

this has gotten off topic for this thread but..

the way the music industry is now you have a a small handful of artists getting rich and the vast majority making nothing.

the best music is made by people who aren't millionaires.
 
I just hope they add it for all of their music...stupid record labels...:p

-=|Mgkwho
It's not the record labels, a ringtone is a new license that is negotiated with the writer and publisher as well as the recording master's owner. In this day and age, most big name artists control all of the above. I have several artists that I know who will never license their songs. They think it is a lo-fi, crass and commercial way to have their music exploited. (just like use for commercial products on TV) I know artists who will never license for any amount of money to a ringtone or greeting card etc. but give away their licenses to a great cause. It's not about money at all.
I think the big mistake people who are not in the biz seem to assume that the record companies actually have any power at all. It is the artist/writer who pulls the strings and their power is directly related to their popularity. And what makes you think that a artist/writer would allow a record label to negotiate a license on their behalf?
 
This is kinda lame!

why?
1- too hard to figure out what songs i already purchased that can be made into ringtones

2- If i already own a cd, ripped it into itunes, i have to PAY??? BS! i would want to make it a ringtone without PAYING!!

Apple, this is the start of making your customers pissed off with you.
 
Ringtone Sound Quality via Speakers

Anyone else notice that if there is too much bass, etc that the ringtone sounds crappy (static, etc) as if the volume is too high outside the speaker? I'm thinking perhaps I have a bad speaker on my iPhone, but even when turning the volume down for incoming call rings it still sounds bad...

Vocal only songs sound fine... Alternative and dance really are horrible. It's as if iTunes doesn't flatten the file first to accomodate for the iPhone's speaker.

:confused:
 
It is the artist/writer who pulls the strings and their power is directly related to their popularity. And what makes you think that a artist/writer would allow a record label to negotiate a license on their behalf?
I would think whatever terms that artist/writer has in their contract with the record label would determine that licensing. And many new, up-and-coming artists sign long-term contracts with the major labels that hand over much of their control in these matters to the labels, which they later regret, but are legally obliged to obey.
 
2- If i already own a cd, ripped it into itunes, i have to PAY??? BS! i would want to make it a ringtone without PAYING!!

Apple, this is the start of making your customers pissed off with you.

A note on fair use. If you have legally purchased a cd or mp3 you have the right to make a copy for your phone. That is fair use. A previous poster said it would be illegal because you would be playing it in public. Not so. It is not a commercial use. But Apple can not allow this to happen because they are a business and they must get a license to distribute a ringtone.
So when you take your music, cut it yourself, and install it on your phone, it is legal and fair. Just do not make copies for your friends. And only do it from music you have paid for legally.
 
I wanted to try out the ringtone service through Apple, specifically to find out if iTunes Plus songs would create DRM-encoded ringtones. So I try and find an iTunes Plus song that supports ringtones (and there aren't many, I really only found a couple of Coldplay songs). So I bought "The Scientist", paying $1.29.

Then I go to make a ringtone, and I select the portion of the song that I want, but when I go to buy it, I get the following error:



Now the only reason I bought this song was to try out the ringtone service (I already own the song on CD). Yes, I know I can do the easy workarounds to use my own song, but I wanted to try out Apple's service so I would know how it works. Now I want my money back, since I paid for essentially nothing.

This is because the ringtone has to be 128kbps or lower.iTunes usually makes them 122kbps.
I have a lot of DRM free albums I purchased through iTunes and none of them are "ringtoneble".
 
I would think whatever terms that artist/writer has in their contract with the record label would determine that licensing. And many new, up-and-coming artists sign long-term contracts with the major labels that hand over much of their control in these matters to the labels, which they later regret, but are legally obliged to obey.
That is a good thought, but it just is not true in reality. I have to negotiate ringtone licenses for every major retailer of ringtones, individually. The record label does not own the underlying work (i.e. song) In the old days record labels tried to control everything. Only the most desperate artists bit. Those old contracts are regularly reversed in court. Today record labels have no power. They don't pay for your recording because you produced it yourself (on Pro-tools), and they don't have the power to negotiate due to multiple distribution chains they don't control. The writer/publisher is the one in the driver's seat. Ever notice all the partial albums on iTunes?
 
There *is* a way to use songs you own...

Since a lot of people are still complaining about having to pay extra to put ring tones on their phone, I am assuming that most haven't seen the thread on a *non-hack* method for adding songs that you own as ring tones.

A link to the software is here:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/utm/posts/Article/MakeiPhoneRingtone-2007-09-11-09-00.html

It's a simple app. Drag any AAC (MP4 audio) file into its window and that/those file(s) appear in your iTunes Ringtones section. No messing with file renaming or requirement to hack the phone to drop stuff onto its file system. Simply sync your phone with iTunes and your new ring tones are available - the same way they would be if you had purchased them from the iTunes store.

I'm not affiliated in any way with the software maker - just thinking that this utility has gone unnoticed. :)
 
This is because the ringtone has to be 128kbps or lower.iTunes usually makes them 122kbps.
I have a lot of DRM free albums I purchased through iTunes and none of them are "ringtoneble".
But the song has a ringtone icon next to it, even when I have iTunes Plus set to default (and the plus icon shows up aswell). Are you saying that I paid extra for a song that says I can make a ringtone out of it, and it won't let me make a ringtone out of it because the song is "too good"? If so, I want a refund of my $1.29.
 
That is a good thought, but it just is not true in reality. I have to negotiate ringtone licenses for every major retailer of ringtones, individually. The record label does not own the underlying work (i.e. song) In the old days record labels tried to control everything. Only the most desperate artists bit. Those old contracts are regularly reversed in court. Today record labels have no power. They don't pay for your recording because you produced it yourself (on Pro-tools), and they don't have the power to negotiate due to multiple distribution chains they don't control. The writer/publisher is the one in the driver's seat. Ever notice all the partial albums on iTunes?
Hmm, well, this may be true in your case, but I don't think it is true for the average performer that has just signed with a major record label. True, thanks to the Internet, the power of the labels is diminishing day-after-day but only the biggest artists are able to wield so much power over the labels and avoid the traditional record deal where the label owns the product of their artists' work after having footed the bill for production, marketing and distribution.
 
not.

why pay for a ringtone? on every other phones we can upload mp3 files and make a ringtone... i hate when companies start to be greedy. crap.
 
But the song has a ringtone icon next to it, even when I have iTunes Plus set to default (and the plus icon shows up aswell). Are you saying that I paid extra for a song that says I can make a ringtone out of it, and it won't let me make a ringtone out of it because the song is "too good"? If so, I want a refund of my $1.29.


What iTunes Plus DRM-Free song are you referring to ?
 
I tried iToner shortly after all the ringtones became available on iTunes and have concluded that iTunes, though limited on selection right now, is still the best choice for a ringtone...

Third-party audio editors allow you to edit the song to the desired 30 seconds which you can then use iToner (or another app) to send them to your iPhone. The disadvantage is that can be extra expense (most editors I have found are not freeware) and it requires some extra steps, but the advantage is it does allow you the flexibility to use any song as a ringtone, and not just ones supported by iTunes.

iTunes' advantage is that it's all integrated, as you noted in your post. No need to use separate applications to first create and then send the ringtones. No worries about Apple breaking it via an iPhone or iTunes update. The disadvantage is cost and the ability to only make some songs ringtones.
 
Not the best of moves...

Apple stands out as a company that makes products/devices that we can use to think and be different, right? How come they have gone out of their way to cripple this device? We should be able to make anything into a ringtone. I understand that if they are providing the ringtone they must charge for it. However, why not allow us to use iTunes and/or garage band to produce ringtones from any thing "we" want to use? They are violating their basic philosophy.
 
Same thing happened to me...

I tried to purchase my first ringtone. First, I bought the song for $1.29. Then, I attempted to purchase the ringtone for an additional .99 <sucker>. So I clicked on the little bell and it took me to the itunes agreement. I accepted then proceeded to make my ringtone "just so". When I clicked "buy" I was met with the following error message: COULD NOT CREATE RINGTONE. AN UNKNOWN ERROR OCCURRED (-42160). THERE WAS AN ERROR IN THE ITUNES STORE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Kristen :confused:

I had the same problem. I called Tech Support and they had me search the iTunes Store for the song. Despite having the ringtone icon next to the song in my own library, the song in the iTunes Store did NOT have the icon next to it. There's some sort of bug, and they've now been notified of it.

Tech Support ended up giving me a couple of song credits, and advised me to report it if I come across the issue again. I suggest you do, as well. I hope this is of help.

Here’s an Apple Discussion Group Thread about the problem: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5321707#5321707
 
Hmm, well, this may be true in your case, but I don't think it is true for the average performer that has just signed with a major record label. True, thanks to the Internet, the power of the labels is diminishing day-after-day but only the biggest artists are able to wield so much power over the labels and avoid the traditional record deal where the label owns the product of their artists' work after having footed the bill for production, marketing and distribution.
Really not the way it is. Think of Green Day releasing Working Class Hero.
Green Day may want to license the ringtone and their label might, but what if Yoko doesn't? The underlying work is the key!! Writers and Publishers run the music business, which the record business is only a player (and a diminishing player at that) Why do you think Tower went under. CDs are on their way to Vinyl record heaven. Sure, some minor players may still get yanked around, But people who want ringtones want hits not unknowns.
 
Since a lot of people are still complaining about having to pay extra to put ring tones on their phone, I am assuming that most haven't seen the thread on a *non-hack* method for adding songs that you own as ring tones.

A link to the software is here:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/utm/posts/Article/MakeiPhoneRingtone-2007-09-11-09-00.html

It's a simple app. Drag any AAC (MP4 audio) file into its window and that/those file(s) appear in your iTunes Ringtones section. No messing with file renaming or requirement to hack the phone to drop stuff onto its file system. Simply sync your phone with iTunes and your new ring tones are available - the same way they would be if you had purchased them from the iTunes store.

I'm not affiliated in any way with the software maker - just thinking that this utility has gone unnoticed. :)

Firstly, MakeiPhoneRingtone does indeed pop an AAC file (a free song from iTunes) into the ringtones selection, but of course it dumps the whole song there. iTunes won't edit it down. If i try to "Create Ringtone" by right clicking it, then iTunes just says iTunes cannot connect to the iTunes store...

but so far no song I have purchased shows the bell icon, and i can't see ANY in the iTunes store. Can anyone OUTSIDE the US ssee ANY tracks that can be converted even by paying?

Or is this another US only feature???
 
why use iToner?

I tried iToner shortly after all the ringtones became available on iTunes and have concluded that iTunes, though limited on selection right now, is still the best choice for a ringtone.

Why?

To put a ringtone on my Razr I duplicated an existing song, then set the start/stop points to where I wanted the ringtone to play, and then sent the file to my Razr using Bluetooth. Very easy.

Does Bluetooth File Exchange not work on the iPhone?

-Jason
 
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