The RIAA is responsible for defending our rights to ringtones? Talk about a surprising plot twist! With all the talk of Apple iPhones and ringtone technology, the truth is revealed: creating your own ringtones and using them on your phone is explicitly legal thanks to RIAA. That’s right, the originators and biggest defenders of DIY ringtone access is the same agency famous for SLAPping toddlers and grannies with music piracy lawsuits. It turns out, in a move very similar to the tactics used by Clear Channel and Payola, that the RIAA wanted to “distribute ringtones of its artists’ music without having to pay the artist big money to do so…” Therefore, the RIAA convinced the Copyright Office that ringtones of copyrighted music is not a derivative work, and thus does not infringe on the songwriter’s and performers’ copyrights. The results of winning their persuasive argument, is that anyone can create a ringtone without a license for the music. As long as you legally own the rights to the music (which includes rights granted to the consumer upon purchase of an album/CD/mp3 etc.) you can legally make a ringtone out of it. However, this does not give you permission to sell, distribute or otherwise commercialize your creation. So, does this mean junglists can get sample clearance if they make a ringtone of the sample they want first? ([More →])

What would Bob Marley think of his albums being released in every new media? These days, there are many options for the rastaman on the go. USB, SD, mp3, and ringtones, Bob Marley and the Wailers are as mobile as a rasta can get! That’s right, ringtones! Verizon Wireless and Universal Music Group announced a deal today that makes an extensive catalog of Bob Marley tunes available as ringtones for Verizon cell phones. A press release about the new ringtones puts Bob Marley on the highest musical pedestal and hails Verizon as a leader in mobile music for inking the deal with Universal. ([More →])