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Cell Phone Ring Tones Top the Charts

NPR | By Michele Norris

Published October 28, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Downloading popular songs to use as personal cell phone ring tones has turned into a $3 billion global industry. A growing revenue stream for songwriters and publishers, ring tones are now outselling digital downloads of music. NPR's Michele Norris talks to Geoff Mayfield, the director of charts for Billboard Magazine, which has just launched a "Hot Ringtones" chart.