To fully equip yourself, be sure to check out our Hi-End Ringtones section.

The first commercial mobile Ring Tones were created and delivered in Finland in 1998 when a Finnish mobile operator Radiolinja (today Elisa) started their downloadable mobile ring tone service called Harmonium. Invented by Vesa-Matti Pananen, the Harmonium contained both tools for individuals to create monophonic ring tones and a mechanism to deliver them over-the-air (OTA) via SMS to a mobile handset. The service concept spread quickly in Europe and Asia and developed into a multi-billion dollar industry. A ring tone service was one of the very first successful m-commerce services, with social media features like composing, sharing, and rating Ringtones. The Harmonium also quickly created a market for high-quality professional ring tones and commercial Ringtone libraries.

The rise of video games has also contributed to the popularity of ring tones.On August 5, 2006, the BBC described "Free Ring Tones" as a dangerous search term, because of the risk of malware and other malicious websites.

By 2005, ring tones generated more than $2 billion in annual worldwide revenues. Real Ringtones, which are often excerpts from pop songs, have become popular as Ringtones.

Sales and marketing of Ringtones is a prime example of vertical telecommunication convergence.