The artists Timberland is going to release his next album as a download ringtone.
He says "this has never been done before"
Is he right in doing that or not?
I think it is a good idea (as long as the download is cheap enough) in the fact that they are trying something different. But I tend to worry.
I worry about the idea of a ringtone. Are people going to keep it as a ringtone, or are they going to transfer the tracks to their computer and burn it onto a CD? Is that going to increase piracy?
Also ringtones are spreadable and easily made, that is why they are so cool.
People enjoy the idea of converting their CDs to ringtones, it doesn't seem that bad a deal- it's free and it is not piracy. However to have a full album ringtone only could be iffy- could people Bluetooth it to their friends? So the initial sales could be high but later sales could be reduced.
If they can't Bluetooth it then that reduces a great marketing technique.
Also, if the tones are over $5 for the full album...then that would be wrong.
Will people buy the CD as well? I doubt it. Unless that is an industry ploy.
Ringtones are a huge growth area, but I would feel dissapointed that I only had the ringtone of the full album.
What the companies could do is give a voucher for 60% off the normal CD to encourage buying of those after the tones have been sold (at $2-3 for the album).
Watch this space.
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2 comments:
Timberland "Timbaland" sucks. He has no talent and is stealing other artists work. Read here:
about the ringtone rip
I am in two minds about Timbaland. In one he is a probable rip off artist and I support the demoscene one hundred percent and I am a firm supporter. Chip tunes/ beats originated on the computer not from a today hip hop artist...my own beef there.
However, we have to look at this as marketing, at it is a marketing blog and Timby (or more than likely his record company) is doing something in that area.
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