Today the convenient practice is for a cell phone's owner to attach ringtones of his or her choice to selected callers.
With this opt-in paid service, the caller selects his or her own outbound ringtone. When a call is placed to a recipient who has also opted into the system, the ringtone is temporarily downloaded to the called phone first and the caller's chosen ringtone sounds. The $5.95 per month fee covers BMI/ASCAP fees for any copywrighted material.
It's a fun alternative for people who have already paid for every other monthly service. When "Don't You Want Me" by Human League suddenly starts playing unexpectedly on your phone, you smirk and say, aw, my dumb big sister changed her ringtone again, I bet. Then you look at the caller ID, and no! It's your aunt in Duluth calling you. Wow, how long has it been. "Hey, Aunt Debbie! Nice ringtone! How've you been?"-- globaltourniquet, Nov 30 2007 Yay, now I can phone my cardiologist on Wednesday morning, while he is making a putt on the third, with: "Why can't I be You?' ~ The Cure. My therapist with: "Shiny, Happy People" ~ REM My Bank Manager with: "What's twenty quid to the fucking Midlands Bank?" ~ Monty Python. My wife with: "Wish you were here." ~ Pink Floyd My Representative with: "Tie me Kangaroo down, Sport." ~ Rolf Harris.-- 4whom, Dec 01 2007 Charge them extra per call as well 'for the GSM data traffic'. Maybe $2, whether it's answered or not. Then I'm in...-- vincevincevince, Dec 01 2007 random, halfbakery