Music and Ringtones

This study examines the impact of mobile technologies and the internet on the way music is consumed and marketed in Japan , drawing from interviews of executives from the music, telecommunications, and internet industries; it also compares the behavior of Japanese and American consumers, as determined by surveys conducted in late 2006 and early 2007. Japanese telecommunication carriers created an environment friendly to the development of mobile phone applications by offering low commission rates and settlement systems to content companies and incentives to upgrade handsets to consumers. Japanese record companies were initially skeptical of mobile downloads, but mastertone and full-track downloads quickly became important promotional tools and significant revenue streams. While both Japanese and American students listened to music on the go and used multiple ringtones, Japanese students were less likely to own PCs and more likely to own 3G-enabled phones; they were thus more likely to discover new songs on mobile portal sites and use phones to listen to music than American students. However, American students were more likely to express their feelings about themselves and their friends through their ringtones than Japanese students, who were more likely to use vibration or silent mode. Hence, this study shows how both corporate policies and cultural factors can impact the way consumers use devices, ultimately affecting how music is heard and acquired.

This chapter examines the emergence of the political ringtone in the Philippines in the neoliberal era. It argues that the popularity of the “Hello Garci” and “Sorry Po” ringtones in the midst of the Arroyo election scandal signaled the convergence of significant transformations in technology, culture, and politics in the Philippines that began in the mid-1990s. By focusing on the work of TXTPower, a Manila-based consumer and citizen advocacy group for mobile phone users and political opposition to the Arroyo administration, it also contends that these transformations indicate that neoliberalism does not constitute a refashioning of liberal
democratic institutions, but a threat to them.

This chapter chronicles the development of the mobile internet and cell-phone music in Japan, taking into account the role of telecommunications infrastructure and strategy in encouraging diffusion, the differing and evolving strategies of record companies, and the impact on the listening and purchasing habits of consumers. As among the global leaders of cellular phone technologies, Japanese carriers have often implemented consumer applications several years ahead of North America and Europe. Ringtones and the mobile internet were prime examples, where Japan was ahead of North America by about three years. The history of ringtones from push-button melodies to single track downloads is recounted, describing the role of polyphonic ringtones and chaku-uta (sampled ringtones, or ringtunes/mastertones) in stimulating growth in mobile internet usage and the adoption of 3G (broadband mobile internet). The chapter explains how chaku-uta changed the behavior of consumers and how record companies and portal operators responded with different strategies regarding availability of product, distribution, and pricing. Using a combination of analysis of business strategies and interviews with corporate executives and users, the chapter provides an  assessment of how the new technology influenced what music was heard, how it was heard, how it was marketed, and who profited from music sales. The findings reflect on the impact of corporate strategy and technological infrastructure, alongside cultural circumstances, on consumer behavior.