Introducing The Savior Of the Music Industry :
The Ringle?!

guest commentary by Nick Pipitone

It seems like every headline you read these days concerning the RIAA involves them disapproving of something. But here’s something they finally approve of: The Ringle.

No, it’s not a new snack food. The Ringle is a new fangled CD offering from Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Universal Music. It’s a CD single that includes a hit, an a remix, an older cut and a ringtone of the hit. It also includes a wallpaper of artist-related artwork. They’re coming out in October/November and will retail for about 5.98, which is $5.98 more than most people want to spend on a hit song.

Nevertheless the recording industry crawls forward, packaging the hits with extras to get customers back into the retail environment and buying — and not downloading.

But here’s what they’re missing: Downloading music is now a cemented part of the music world that isn’t going away. And when you download something, here’s a news flash: it’s already on your computer. Betcha can’t wait to get that ringle home only to have to transfer the ringle contents to your computer and cell phone.

And speaking of cell phone ringtones, I don’t need the industry to give me one. My phone, the Sony W600i, utilizes any MP3 I want and turns it into a ringtone for me (sorry iphone users).

I suppose it will be interesting to see what kind of remixes they come up with but my guess is it won’t be worth the money, considering a typical download is only 99 cents. The RIAA and the labels must know by now: The past is nowhere to live. [np]