Crafting ringtones that say "you"
By Charles Bermant

What: Phone Sherpa, in Fremont

Who: John Manning, 35, chief marketing officer

Mission: To be the world's largest ringtone vendor and ringtone store.

Employees: 7

Financials: Self-financed company; says it's hovering around profitability.

Options: Formed in 2005, it has an editor that allows people to create custom ringtones from music they already own and a hosting service for bands or businesses that want to sell ringtones. The latter service allows customers to post links to the service on their Web site or MySpace page.

Fashion accessory: Some people switch ringtones a dozen times a month. Manning also said "several thousand bands a week" have signed up to create their own ringtone store since the service launched in early April.

Dulcet tones: Phone Sherpa software can create a ringtone from any digital sound file. So a mother can, for instance, capture her baby's cooing to signal incoming calls. "It's a form of self-expression," Manning said.

Copyright: Manning said it is legal for someone to use any music they own to create a ringtone, as long as the music was purchased legitimately. Phone Sherpa says it patrols the online stores for possible misuse. "There are a lot of teenagers who use music that does not belong to them," Manning said. "So as soon as they post it, we have to take it right down."

His ringtone? "I am a big Springsteen fan," Manning said. "So I have three segments of 'Adam Raised a Cain' tied to three different people. That one has gotten some great reactions."