'With priorities like these, it’s no wonder we have so many problems in the world today.' 'In 2003, it seems that a person’s most valued and public expression of self seems to be embodied in the customized features of his cell phone,' wrote one woman in a BBC opinion poll. Shortly before the company put out the first of several betas in August of 2003, an analyst report predicted that ringtone sales would soon bring in more money than CD singles. Mobile phones - to which Skype was an indirect competitor - were becoming ubiquitous, and so were the personalized sounds that went with them.
The year that Skype launched its calling service, the world was in the midst of a sonic crisis: the ringtone.
