The strange and sudden disappearance of millennial favorite cell phone ringback tones
"The very first one I bought was 'Promiscuous' by Nelly Furtado. Those were the days 🥲."
Millennials discuss ringback tones they had in the 00s.
The Millennial existence can be defined by one technological invention: the ringback tone. Unlike ringtones (which played when receiving an incoming call), ringback tones played song clips for callers while they waited for friends to answer.
Ringback tones were first introduced in 2004. T-Mobile was the first to offer them under the name "CallerTunes," and other carriers quickly followed suit. In a video by MusicBiz's James Howell, he explains the cultural impact ringback tones had on Millennials.
"If you were a teenage in the early 2000's, then you no doubt remember ringback tones. The invention of them seemed like something that would never leave us," he says. "All of a sudden, you could stop hearing that boring old ringtone you heard when you called somebody's house throughout all of time up to that point, and instead you could have 10-30 seconds of your favorite song playing for anyone that called you. And it made for some pretty hilarious moments."
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He notes that "by 2008, ringback sales started to decline. And by 2011, AT&T did away with the service all together." He adds this was followed by Sprint a few year later.
But most surprisingly, ringback tones were still available under other carriers. Verizon held on to ringback tones until 2020—when it finally announced that it was discontinuing them in October 2020. (You may remember this phrase: 'Please enjoy this Verizon ringback tone while your party is reached'.) And T-Mobile discontinued CallerTunes in May 2023.
"Farwell ringback tones. We hardly knew you, we spent a lot of money on you, and we have nothing to show for it," he quips. "But for a moment, you really mattered."
@isabelclanc Bring back ringback tones #ringbacktone #2000s #nostalgia #nostalgic #2007 #millennial #genx #xennial #millennials #throwback
And today, Millennials still feel nostalgic about their ringback tones. Over on Reddit, Millennials shared the hilarious ringback tone choices they had back in the day—with many calling for them to make a comeback.
"A friend of mine lost her phone and we were calling it to find it. I heard Fergie’s 'London Bridge' over and over for hours." - Squeeesh_
"I switched to Verizon just so that I could get ringback tones. I had different ones for different days of the week and different times of the day. The very first one I bought was 'Promiscuous' by Nelly Furtado. Those were the days 🥲" - Perfect_Try_8716
"Forever seared in my brain 'This is why I’m hot, you ain’t cus you not, this is why - this is why - this is why I’m hot'." - Shaxxs0therHorn
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"In college I had 'Rehab' by Amy Winehouse as my ringback tone for a while." Contemporary_Scribe
"Of course. Its why to this day that the only Lynyrd Skynyrd song i don’t like is 'gimme back my bullets' because it was my best friend’s ringback tone for like ten years." - FalseAd4246
"One of my friends had 'Hold On' by Good Charlotte." - Fckingross
"Yes! Mine was 'Everlong' [Foo Fighters]!!!" - Head-Unit-5594
"Yep! I had 'She’s a Rebel' by Green Day as mine." - Gloomy_Tie_1997
"These were so weirdly controversial. My grandma hated 'Hustlin’' by Rick Ross enough to quit calling me for a period of time. The theme song from Sanford and Son nearly ended a friendship. Those were some times…" - Lizard__Bit
"'Please enjoy this Verizon ring-back tone while your party is reached' YUUUUUU SOULJA BOI UP IN THIS HOE. This sh*t is why I just started texting people." - Thonatron
"Mine was 'That Green Gentleman' by Panic! At The Disco and my mom was so confused the first few times, she would end up hanging up on me before I could greet her." - blind_squash