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Ringtones Are Running This Rap Shit

Jay-Z

Contibuted by Matt Tomer on 8/16/07

I’m tellin’ you, Verizon’s taking over this hip hop shit.

I mean, I love Jay-Z as much as the next man (pause), but Def Jam can’t possibly keep up with this… ring tone phenomenon. What’s with all the buzz (no pun intended)?

Let me make this clear: I have no beef with the ring tones themselves. Shit, they’re harmless fun - who doesn’t want T-Pain serenading them every time they get a text message? But is there a correlation between the rise of ring tones and the dramatic decline in sales? Can a song even sell itself anymore, or does it take all this extra baggage? Nas never said exactly what was killing hip hop…

It would look like another fad, but it’s a contributing factor that could be the final straw in forcing major labels to fold. Hopefully not, but at this point that might just be wishful thinking - people don’t buy albums anyway. Y’all know how it is: CD sales are down, phone sales are up, and so are iPods - you need something to play them stolen MP3’s on, right? An artist that barely breaks platinum in 2007 is haunted by what could have been: three times plat in 2002, maybe five times plat in the ’90s. Artists like Black Moon used to eat off their sound scans, today they rely much more on rigorous touring schedules and releasing mixtapes at a frantic pace (that’s another discussion).

Nas turned many a head when he claimed hip hop was “deceased,” and the idea has inspired a devoted following - the majority of which won’t hear “It’s Going Down” during incoming calls. Coincidence?

The fact is music doesn’t sell itself anymore. A damn shame and a bitter pill to swallow, but it is what it is. The other day a friend was telling me how he downloads 100-plus albums a week. Unimpressed, I reared back and prepared a smart ass response, but I had to fall back. Shit, I can’t even be mad at the freeloaders! On the one hand, there is no incentive to buy. What audiences get out of “Ay Bay Bay” starts and ends on the TV screen, or, of course, the mobile phone. Thus, a startling overflow of “ring tone singles” becomes a reality.

And what exactly is a “ring tone single?” A slammin,’ bammin’ hit that sets the world ablaze… yet generates little interest in the artist and still doesn’t result in album sales (some attribute a particular sound to the term… I’ll leave it at that). I’m not bashing anyone or anything, but some music seems better off in the club. Everyone goes crazy for “Laffy Taffy,” so why does it only go gold? iTunes and other MP3 sites have a lot to do with it, as fans can now go online and take individual songs instead of 16 skippable tracks wrapped in plastic. Fans need new reasons to purchase their favorite music - physical copies are clearly things people don’t take pride in owning anymore.

And there’s such a thing as deterioration plaguing certain musicians. Cats admit to diluting their music to better suit a conditioned core audience (Jigga: “I dumb down for my audience and double my dollars”). Little Brother can’t get spins on BET because “Lovin’ It” is too smart? Allow me to quote: “I wake up every morning, holding my dick, going through life like I know I’m the shit.” Internet heads join me in a resounding “LOL.” Maybe it’s ’cause Phonte annunciates? Artists are forced to sound like the last guy, and anyone outside the mold has trouble being heard.

The game has drastically changed, and in a short period of time. Recently BET was at Fat Beats in New York, previewing the new Keith Murray video. I found this exciting, especially because Keith is supposed to come with some real gutter stuff on his new album (”gutter” and “BET” don’t usually go hand in hand). My friend actually says to me “yeah they’re going all underground today,” which got me thinking. Keith Murray was a reasonably popular artist just a few years ago. The Most Beautifullest Thing in the World went Gold, and today he’s underground? Lloyd Banks doesn’t even go gold!

Perhaps it’s a sign of things to come? Will albums and CD’s die out altogether? Dutch producer Nicolay buys into the theory, “Soundscan – that’s a thing of the past. We still talk about it like it means anything, but in five years nobody is going to look at the Soundscans.” If he’s right, the music industry is in the middle of a complete 360, and there’s no telling where it will eventually land. If anything, ring tones help define this new generation and way of thinking - whether that’s positive or not.