This incredibly thorough essay by Sumantha Gopinath - Assistant Professor of Music Theory in the University of Minnesota School of Music - published on First Monday attempts to provide a description of the global ringtone industry, to determine and assess the numerous cultural consequences of the ringtone’s appearance and development, and to situate the ringtone within the context of contemporary capitalism.

The essay also covers the history of the ringtone, how it's evolving, world sales, what it's like to be a ringtone composer and who's entitled to copyright revenue...