Don't Pay for Crap You Already Own

Why does this young girl have such a bright smile on her face while she talks on her cellular telephone? Is she telling her parents about her acceptance to Harvard? Was she just asked on a date at the local Starbucks? Is she enjoying the anal-rapage of her bank account? Prior to this conversation commencing, she was treated to the smooth sounds of Jay-Z that she had purchased for the mere pittance of $3.49 from her service provider.

Unbeknown to her (and many others who make up the $600 million ringtone customer base), ringtones are the biggest ripoff since Amway.

In a vintage article from early '06, Wired explains why it is absurd to pay a company for a small fragment of a track that you likely already own. Ringtone prices can range from $2 for crappy, synthesized versions like you might hear in an NES game) to $3 or perhaps even more if you enroll in a sketchy subscription service. If you consider that an average CD is 12 tracks, you would be paying over $30 to purchase a small fraction of a full-length CD. As pointed out in the article, it costs more to download a ringtone than it does to download a legitimate MP3.

All you have to do is purchase a Bluetooth adapter (if your phone is so configured) or a data cable to connect your phone to a computer. Either of these cost around $30. Next, download an MP3 editing software such as Audacity or MP3 Wav Editor, cut down the song in question, transfer it to your phone, and you are good to go and didn't expend $3 in the process.

Now, you have more money to spend on beer, string cheese, or being carbon neutral. Don't you feel better about yourself already?