Ringtone Adverts

[BU5T4]

After watching way too much TV this week I was wondering how these ringtone companies work.

I know they charge you a fortune to send out a txt message that costs them about 20p.

Does anyone know where I could find more info on getting hosting solutions for if I wanted to start my own ring tone company.

I have had my own hosting for many years now and have been involved in server administration but have recently wondered how I would go about starting one of these ringtone type companies.

Anyone out there with any knowlage of this?

Cheers

BU5T4

[john_p]

Yes, I own one of them.

There are people that let you resell their services on a reseller basis. Not sure who but have a search on the web for candidates. Opera Telecom might do it.

Although it's not exactly unprofitable, remember that the networks take ~20-30% of the PSMS before you ever see it; 15% royalties, and SMS costs on top of that. However you have to advertise somehow - this is where the tricky bit comes in.

Be advised it's a saturated market and as such might be difficult to make any money without some significant investment or doing something innovative to everyone else.

Much of the market is moving to a subscription model now to ensure people get tied into one service as there is little or no loyalty .. so instead of 1 ringtone for £4.50 (UK very expensive compared to rest of Europe) companies are starting to do models where you subscribe for £4.50/wk and download up to 5-10 ringtones, that kind of thing.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Can't understand the appeal.

I have "ring ring" on mine.

If I want something different I make an mp3 or a MIDI file. Which is great until it actually goes off in public, whereupon I die of embarrassment and change it back to "ring ring"

The idea of some animated bloody chick on my phone makes me want to hurl!

The adverts are almost as bad as the ringtones!

<fastshow> No offence! </fastshow>

[john_p]

I use ring ring too

and don't get me started on the crazy frog etc

>> Edited by john_p on Wednesday 23 March 20:15

[sadako]

[ninjadave]

john_p said:

I use ring ring too and don't get me started on the crazy frog etc >> Edited by john_p on Wednesday 23 March 20:15

these guys effectivly pay my wages so I can't say anything bad against them... but yes, I am surrounded by TVs here at work, and if you flick between our networks, they will ALL be playing the same damn adverts across the whole of Europe at the same time(ish).

Makes me twitch no when I'm out and I here it

What's worse is when I go to a motor show and all the people there have the crazy frog ring tone, thinking that the "brum brum" noise is funny... it's not

[darrent]

BU5T4 said:

After watching way too much TV this week I was wondering how these ringtone companies work. I know they charge you a fortune to send out a txt message that costs them about 20p. Does anyone know where I could find more info on getting hosting solutions for if I wanted to start my own ring tone company. I have had my own hosting for many years now and have been involved in server administration but have recently wondered how I would go about starting one of these ringtone type companies. Anyone out there with any knowlage of this? Cheers BU5T4

Get yourself into mobile porn! Seriously, we have moved all our focus away from tones to porn as it's too crowded in the ringtone sector. We made our money there now it's time to move on.....porn is where it's at!!

[b17nns]

darrent said:

porn is where it's at!!

can't quite see why anyone would pay to download a bit of low res crappy porn to their 1" square mobile screen when there is literally millions of pages of free stuff on the inernet (apparently, so Im told etc)

[sadako]

b17nns said:

darrent said: porn is where it's at!! can't quite see why anyone would pay to download a bit of low res crappy porn to their 1" square mobile screen when there is literally millions of pages of free stuff on the inernet (apparently, so Im told etc)

There are literally millions of .wav files on the internet, including Mr Frog. I've had a flash file for ages with the frog on it that I now cant post because people would flame me for the ringtone.

People have been using jamster and the like to sell background wallpapers, pr0n this is no different. It'll take off as soon as the idiots buying it discover that they can fullscreen and zoom in on pictures.

BTW, in an effort to out-annoy people with crazy frog my ringtone is currently "Bananaphone", self set without the aid of jamster

[Soundwave]

[Rant]I loathe & ditest those stupid adverts I really dont need to be bombarded by them everytime a song finishes on ANY of the music channels...whats the point I saw the ad 2 minutes ago I hated it then I hate it now & you'll show me it again in another 2 minutes & all I'll want to do then is hunt you down & stick my f'ing boot in your face...so please p155 off & take that stupid f'ing frog with you[/Rant]

[Marshy]

I think these ringtone companies are basically immoral. Yeah, the adverts say over 16 only, but the way they're set up is akin to a trap.

Send BIBBLE to 82112 to get this ringtone FREE

But we'll send you six a week at 100p each, and you can only stop it by sending BUGGERYBOLLOCKS to 82341. Over 16 only. Get bill payer's permission first. Oh, and yah boo sucks 'cos no-one gets time to read this far as they're too busy sending BIBBLE to 82112.Ha ha, kerching!

Am I the only one who thinks this is an insidious trap for silly giggly teenage girls (and their parents, at the end of the day, as the likely bill payers)...

Grrr...

>> Edited by Marshy on Thursday 24th March 21:56

[Soundwave]

Oh yeah it is tantermount to entrapment.

I got cuaght with one from Jamster.

Signed up on their website & got my "free" ringtone...I now get between 1 & 2 texts a month which cost me £1.50 a time!!!

Fortunatley I'm on pay as you go, so dont get raped too much, but its still stupid that their actually allowed to get away with this scam.

I think Ringtone companies should be lined up & shot then just to make sure all the execs are good & dead we should hire an American 18 wheeler to drive over the bodies & just to make double double sure we should then back up over them again

[john_p]

Soundwave said:

I think Ringtone companies should be lined up & shot then just to make sure all the execs are good & dead we should hire an American 18 wheeler to drive over the bodies & just to make double double sure we should then back up over them again

Very mature.

Sounds like you should read the small print .. nothing in life is free!

[top fuel]

I hate ringtones, I think they are awful. I used to have my phone on silent all the time, but on my new one I found the vibrate isn't strong enough sometimes and I kept missing calls, so I now have a simple ring-ring.

How do people not get embaressed when an 8 bit rendition of the theme tune to The O.C. goes off on a busy train?? let alone these feckin' Jamster tones.

I know children do fall for this type thing, but do you really think kids in the playground are saying "What? you've only go the original version of Crazy Frog?? You know you should have the Remix of Sweet by now... you are Sa-a-aaaaaaaaaaad"

Paul (who watches MTV2 too much)

[Marshy]

john_p said:

Sounds like you should read the small print .. nothing in life is free!

Yes... but... these ringtone adverts/"services" are targeted to a market segment that is *very* *unlikely* to read the small print. Furthermore, they are set up in such a way that the user is deemed to have requested an ongoing, almost subscription style service, when it's very likely that they just wanted one ringtone.

Put the latter with the former, and you have something that I regard as immoral: tricking teenagers out of their money.

>> Edited by Marshy on Friday 25th March 17:34

[Soundwave]

john_p said:

Very mature. Sounds like you should read the small print .. nothing in life is free!

Yeah I know not particularly mature but neither are a lot of the execs at these companies if they keep giving us cr@p like that Frog & now that flaming chicken!!!

Your right I didnt read the small print properly so no one to blame really but myself & I have to reap what I sow & I am.

But they way these are set up is wrong they shouldnt be advertised as free when they clearly arent & as Marshy said they are aimed squarely & kids with parents then being forced to cough up ridiculous amounts of money for 1 ringtone.

I have a boss at work who's daughter sent to Jamster for 1 ringtone, she recieved it & her handset wasnt compatible she thought nothing of it as it was shown as "free" then in one month they bombarded her with 30 £1.50 txt's about new promotions!!!!

She sent 4 txt's with the stop message as it states you have to do on the website to cancel them, but it never worked they still kept coming

So now my Boss is now in the process of taking both Jamster & Vodafone to court over the way they can do this.

Its a joke & should be banned...or at least marketed in a different way.