Ana Weaver
Remember back in the day when everyone’s favorite tune was the default Nokia ringtone? Well, as it turns out, it was the beginning of something that will change the music industry forever.
Today, we can hear our favorite tracks with a press of a button, no matter where we found ourselves to be. Our ringtones are either our favorite songs or some fun tunes we’ve found online – rarely does anyone choose the default settings. Either way, most of us aren’t aware of how this affects the sounds of music on a global scale.
So, in this article, we’ll discuss this in detail to give you a broader perspective on the topic in question.
Without any further ado, let’s get right into it!
We can listen to and share music from all over the world in a matter of seconds
Smartphones are the most important tools of globalization to date. The majority of the world has easy access to a plethora of different cultures, languages, and media, which creates new sounds in the music industry as well. Your favorite artists aren’t inspired by the local musical sounds anymore – they can now explore genres from various parts of the globe.
All of this is slowly changing the sound of music, making it more interesting and accessible to everyone at all times. One of the finest examples of this is the rise of the K-Pop industry – everyone and their grandma has heard at least one popular Korean track without even being aware of it! „Western“ artists borrow from Asian music, Indo-pop and J-pop take influence from American Hip-hop and R’n’b – we could go on forever! Music connects the world more strongly than ever, and our smartphones played a key role in that.
Popular ringtones are being sampled in Pop tracks
Whether you’re aware of it or not, popular mobile phone ringtones have had an impact on Pop music in particular. Many chords and tunes have been sampled and featured in popular songs, at least in small fractions.
As short and fun as ringtones are, they’re not as simple as you may think, especially nowadays. There are even websites such as Free100ringtones.com that offer unique ringtone samples you can use to customize your mobile phone experience even more.
Either way, we all hear default phone ringtones on a daily basis, especially if we use a work phone we’re not allowed to customize. According to some research, this has changed how we subconsciously perceive sound in general, which has, in turn, affected the music industry in many ways.
Everyone can create their own ringtone nowadays
Due to the advances in available technology, many people have started making their own music using different computer programs. Amateur-crafted ringtones are all over the internet, and many sound quite good. Everyone’s their own musician nowadays, as everyone has access to free advice and tutorials online. Additionally, there are mobile phone apps that allow you to customize and download your ringtones for as much as you want!
Since there is an influx of amateur musicians online, the music scene itself is expanding and becoming even more creative as time passes. If you’re interested in trying this out yourself, be our guest! There are millions of ways you can go about it – all you need to do is a bit of research.
Mobile-powered social media dictates trends in the industry
Now, let’s say you don’t have TikTok, and you’ve never used the app before…Yet, you still know the songs that are currently popular on the platform, isn’t that so? You hear them while browsing your other apps, such as Instagram or even Youtube!
Social media decides what’s popular today. Some „ringtone remixes“ have influenced these trends in a major way. As long as the content goes viral, the song is there to stay.
Either way, mobile phones, their ringtones, and related apps are widely connected and influential to each other in more ways than you may think. If you’re interested in learning more about the topic, you can find expert articles on it online.
Choosing a ringtone is a ritual for many
We all get sick of our ringtones after some time passes. Changing it to something new and exciting is a ritual for many, which makes our music tastes much more specific. Not all songs make good ringtones, no matter how much you like them. So, people are more willing to explore different genres and sounds in order to find the „perfect“ ringtone.
All of this has impacted the popularity of many „underground“ genres, bringing them to the mainstream.
Now, don’t get us wrong – your ringtone could be anything you’d like – it’s just that most people prefer something that’s upbeat and loud enough to hear. This is why they have such a strong effect on the industry in its entirety.
Nobody ever goes anywhere without a mobile phone today
Do you know anyone who keeps their mobile phone at home while they’re out somewhere? Probably not. So, we’re constantly exposed to other people’s ringtones as well! It’s a way to discover new sounds, which shifts the course of the music industry in itself.
If you’ve ever danced to your friend’s brand new ringtone, you know what we’re talking about! Discovering songs this way is not as rare as you may think, especially today when we have sound-recognition apps such as Shazam.
Overall, the constant presence of mobile phones in our daily lives has certainly had an impact on how we perceive sound – it’s a fact that cannot be denied.
The bottom line
As you can see, mobile phone ringtones have changed music in more ways than just one. It’s not just the industry as a whole, but also our perception of sound is getting changed. These processes are extremely interesting to many experts and analysts around the world, so if you’re interested in learning more, you can find many useful articles on the subject online.
We hope we managed to explain this topic well enough, and we wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.