Babbling VC: Are Ringtones Really Critical for Apple

As VentureBeat points out, music is obviously going to play a critical role in Apple's 3G future. Well, this isn't really rocket science....the iPhone still is an iPod. It's also a no-brainer that you will eventually be buying your music off of iTunes while enroute if you so wish. There is no doubt in my mind that with 3G on the iPhone, you'll be able to download music via such connection. VentureBeat argues though that it would be wrong for Apple to try and make money on ringtones, considering these an extension of music in general. To be honest, I think Apple has been doing damn good at making money and getting their devices into everybody's hands. iTunes is also obviously a success. Now as to ringtones, let's look at what VentureBeat says about this:

I sincerely hope Apple isn’t planning on making ringtones a key part of its strategy. If Apple and the music labels were smart they would team up to make it so that ringtones were included with all iTunes purchases made on the iPhone. That could really spark some sales from the device.

If Apple and the music labels were truly partners and working closely together, a lot of things would be different. Yet they aren't and probably won't be near term. It's also as false presumption that it makes sense to include ringtones with the music as an extension of the sale. This may trigger some sales growth of tracks on iTunes very short-term but it's not going to spark a run on the store. Not enough people care. I believe Apple will do it right in terms of offering ringtones to those who want them (and are willing to pay outrageous prices for them) but please don't include them for everyone, which in turn could make my future purchases of tracks more expensive. One thing to remember is that Apple will do what is going to earn them the most money and the greatest margins (ringtones generally are a wildly successful business for others). Thinking out loud what one would like to see from Apple is not how strategy is driven.