Red-tailed hawk (by RedFeather, Oct 13th, 2008) That's the call of a red-tailed hawk. Although they will occasionally go after birds, their main prey is rodents. Also, they don't use the call for prey - why scare the prey off?
Instead, they use the call at other times, for territorial reasons, and the like.
Fine! (by forestgum, Jul 14th, 2007) That sound was fine!
Interesting (by nautin, Jul 13th, 2007) It sounds high! I like it!
Hawk Threatening (by billyoung, Jul 10th, 2007) It's so strong. I love it.
Ringtones, those song snippets that announce incoming mobile phone calls, are
making noise at the top of the pop charts and on the bottom line of
multibillion-dollar businesses.
Young mobile phone users see a chance to show off their musical taste and
customise an important gadget. Music labels and cell phone providers see a
chance to build a vibrant, piracy-proof market for songs, video clips and other
mobile entertainment.
Ringtones have emerged as a promising source of revenue for music publishers and
record labels still struggling to connect with a generation used to getting
music for free through internet "peer to peer" services.
Ringtone sales topped $US4 billion ($NZ5.95 billion) worldwide in 2004 and
$US300 million ($446 million) in the United States, according to the market
research firm Consect.
While download services like Apple's iTunes seem to have settled on a standard
price of 99 US cents per song, ringtone sellers can charge two to three times as
much for a 15-second snippet.
"This is not a fad that will go away in the next year or so," said Thomas Hesse,
president of global digital business at Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Billboard magazine, the music industry's top trade publication, launched a sales
chart for ringtones last October.
"We knew it was an area of revenue that had record companies excited, but I
don't think we were really prepared for the dimension of success we were
seeing," said Geoff Mayfield,
Billboard senior analyst and charts editor.
Now the number one ringtone typically outsells the number one download, Mayfield
said. Hits like My Goodies by R&B singer Ciara have sold over a million
ringtones.
Ringtones are even invading the pop music charts. In Britain, a song inspired by
a ringtone of a cartoon frog kept mega-sellers Oasis and Coldplay from the top
singles chart spot.
Crazy Frog Axel F, a remake of the 1980s synth-pop hit by Harold Faltermeyer,
has boosted sales of Jamster's Crazy Frog ringtone as well, said an official at
the company that owns the rights to both.
"We've seen very compelling ways to promote the ringtone and promote the single.
It's sort of a virtuous cycle," said Dan Mosher, the US head of Jamster, a
ringtone seller owned by
VeriSign.
Until recently, most phones could only handle synthesised arrangements of pop
songs, known as "polyphonics" or single-note "monophonics" that sound like
doorbell chimes.
But the technology took a big step forward last year with phones that could play
actual song recordings by original artists, known as "master tones" in the
industry's jargon. "Ringback tones," which play music while a call is being
connected, are another new feature.
While polyphonics and monophonics only provide royalties for songwriters and
song publishers, the new forms generate payments for record companies and
recording artists as well. Some see even more ambitious commercial use of mobile
phones in the future.
"Ultimately we believe the phone will be the player of choice for mobile music,"
said Sony's Hesse.
Sony BMG already makes as much money from ringtones as it does from
computer-based digital downloads, and ringtone revenues at rival EMI Group only
slightly trail those from song downloads.
The performing rights organisation ASCAP, which collects royalties for
songwriters and song publishers, says the $US5 million ($7.43 million) it will
collect from ringtones this year
already matches revenue from internet radio, online greeting cards and other
"new media" combined.
Music industry officials say that they're unlikely to encounter the copyright
woes that have plagued digital music because cell phone carriers maintain tight
control over what works on their phones.
Aside from music, cartoonish ringtone voices like Jamster's Crazy Frog have
proven popular and porn star Jenna Jameson now markets her own line of seductive
"moan tones".
Sellers also hawk games, animated videos and "wallpaper" that serves as a
screensaver of sorts for the phones' tiny screens.
ThumbPlay Inc sets more than 2,000 first names to a rock or hip-hop backing for
even more customisation.
It may take time before the mobile phone becomes a full-fledged entertainment
player, said an official with the wireless carrier T-Mobile.
"We're certainly heading in that direction, but on the other hand you have to
look and see if customers are really willing to do what they say they want to do
and are willing to pay for it," said Michael Gallelli, T-Mobile's director of
content services.
Red-tailed hawk (by RedFeather, Oct 13th, 2008)
