Understanding the Ring Tone Craze

Chances are that if you have watched any television, been on the internet or read a magazine in the last 2 years you would have come across ads for ring tones. This industry has literally exploded over the last few years and has found its place in mainstream culture.

A ring tone is simply the sound made by a cellular phone when there is an incoming call. For many this doesn't sound so interesting nor revolutionary, but over time this has become a fundamental selling point within the industry of mobile phones. It was originally a simple concept whereby several different tones were included on newly purchased mobile phones. This allowed the user to choose a tone to differentiate themselves from other people. As time went on and the complexity of phones increased, people were provided with the tools to make their own ring tones, customize ring tones, and download new ring tones. With this new found technology and the plethora of new mobile phone users, the ring tone industry became swamped with customers seeking to gain the newest songs and ring tones on their phones.

The relatively young age of the target market has perhaps been the path to success. Users generally do not have to have a credit card, and the charges for these services are deducted from either the persons phone credit or their monthly call allowance with their service. Because of the simplicity of such offers (generally only requiring a user to SMS or enter their phone number) they have been extremely successful. Since no actual money is being exchanged for the service, rather a call cost, it often appears like these services are free to many users.