Music Industry Set To Introduce the "Ringle"

mrneutron2003 writes "The RIAA has officially backed a move by the recording industry to reintroduce the CD single. Populated with three songs and a ringtone, this brilliantly clueless idea is to be marketed as a 'ringle,' complete with an even more clueless retail price of $6-7 per CD. Apart from the fact the industry hasn't agreed on how the ringtone is to be redeemed (Sony BMG, the initial proponent of the idea, is the exception here), the pricing puts it way out of line with legitimate digital music downloads." At $7, retailers would enjoy a profit margin they haven't seen since the days of cassette tapes and vinyl.

Ringtone

[clarkkent09]

Wow, and you are getting a ringtone as well. That's a $3 value absolutely free!

lovely quote from TFA

[shystershep]

Just when you thought stupid ideas had become an endangered species

Uh, right . . .

Thanks for that little gem, which helps prove there's not much danger of that ever happening.

I'm opposed to this...

[Dr. Manhattan]

...speaking as someone named Ray Ingles.

Given that cost...

[CaptainPatent]

I'm going to invent the Pirated ringtone single

I'll call it a Pringle

Ringtone Hell

[warren_spencer_1977]

My bet is that people will avoid buying these in droves simply because they can't find a CD slot on their cellphones. Imagine the customer support calls?

Re:Huh? What's wrong with this?

[Tsiangkun]

The price could be fine, but are the three songs of value ?

1) HotSingle (Radio edit)
2) HotSingle (Explicit)
3) HotSingle (Extended dub mix)
4) Free* ringtone

*actually costs freedom, requires personal contact information to redeem.

Ringle Haiku!

[middlemen]

I am single,
If I buy a ringle,
With me will women mingle ?

or will it be an iPod haiku - ( scene: chic sees guy with iPod )

My Gawd,
An iPod,
Must have a big rod.

Some basic math

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Lemme see. I have one of them funky new iPods that holds, what, 40,000 songs? And let's see, I'm going to fill it up with ringles? Hmmm. I don't think I'll bother putting the ringtone on the iPod, but the three songs? Sure. So, let's see. Divide 40,000 by 3 = 13,333.33 ringles. Each ringle is $6? 6 x 13,333.33 = $80,000. And that doesn't include sales tax. Here in Toronto, that's 14%, making it $91,200.

WTF ARE THESE IDIOTS THINKING??? That I'm going to spend over NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS to load up my 160gig iPod?

They must be doing some mighty fine crack, because THAT is pure unadulterated BULLSHIT if they think I'm going to spend even 1/2 of one percent of $80,000 loading up my 160gig iPod, and it certainly isn't going to be spend on ringles...

Good god. What a bunch of losers. Left curve of the IQ bell chart. Morons. Mafiosi. Dead enders. Feh.

RS

Uh, It's 1982 on the phone..

[Nonillion]

They want their marketing and manufacturing excuse back. 6-7 dollars? Don't you think that's a little steep?

Ringle?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Is the first release a re-issue of him singing "Photograph?" Or are they going back to his days with The Bingles?

Oh, well. Barbara Bach is still moderately attractive [bbc.co.uk], anyways.

Re:Ringle Haiku!

[dstiggy]

While absolutely hilarious I'd just like to let you and all of the other science and math nerd here (I include myself in that) know that haikus follow a 5, 7, 5 syllable format. Consider:

Haikus can be fun!
But sometimes they don't make any sense.
refrigerator

Re:Given that cost...

[Chris Mattern]

Once you swap, you can't stop!

Re:No way...

[sBox]

This is Sony. Would you like a rootkit with your order, Sir?

Re:Huh? What's wrong with this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why complain here? Why fight them? Just short their stock and laugh all the way to the bank. Instead of complaining, short em while publicly declaring this to be a good move. Somebody's got to pay for my Christmas.

Better make it a bundle

[Laxator2]

In addition to the "ringle" CD, the following must be included:

1. - A self-destructing DVD, which will auto-destruct after a week, or 3 viewings, whichever comes first.

2. - A Blue-Ray DVD player with a slef-destruct mechanism which activates in case the inserted disk is not deemed "genuine" by the SONY servers (broadband connection required).

3. - An additional CD containing only the mandatory rootkit, without which the 3-song + ringtone CD cannot be played.

4. - A Betamax tape, just for the heck of it.

Re:This Brings to Mind a Question

[cowscows]

Dear Concerned yet still Valued Customer,

Although we here in the music industry consist of a collection of the world's greatest and most creative geniuses, we cannot with any certainty predict how many music-playing devices will be invented over the course of your lifetime, so we regret that we are unable to give you an exact answer to your question.

We can tell you, however, that due to the exciting pace of technology in this century, you can look forward to rewarding your favorite musicians over and over again by sending us money each time you purchase a new electronic device. It's thanks to your efforts that we are able to give songwriters and musicians a small portion of the profit that their hard work results in.

Thanks for submitting your question via our website, we will keep your ip address on file so that we can compare it to those found on file sharing networks, for your convenience and for the safety of your music.

Sincerely,
The music industry.

Re:Given that cost...

[zakezuke]

I'm going to invent the Pirated ringtone single

I'll call it a Pringle

I think they are missing a bet, sharing is another form of marketing.
I propose Shared ring singles

Free with every purchase Shingles [wikipedia.org], share with your friends, there is no cure for Shingles(tm).

{modded down in 3, 2 1...}

Re:Huh? What's wrong with this?

[cibyr]

But this time it'll be blamed on ringtone-piracy! And those dirty, evil phone manufacturers making phones that can use MP3s as ringtones. Because we all know that MP3 is the devil's format, an nothing without without DRM could ever be legit.

Re:Huh? What's wrong with this?

[StikyPad]

I thought the default wife ringtone was the Imperial March.