I Know, Let's Call It Annoying Tones!
With the surprise success of ringtones, everyone is trying to figure out what will be the "next" ringtones. We're already hearing a lot about ringback tones (which have been successful in Asia, though it's unclear about how successful they'll be elsewhere), and now a company has somehow convinced investors that people will want downloadable audio files that can be played in the middle of calls. Maybe they should be called "interrupt tones?" As with something like ringback tones, this seems mostly like a fashion statement type offering -- and even if it does catch on, it can go out of fashion very quickly. It seems like an odd business plan to base an entire company on it.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
