Subscriptions, clubs and memberships all drive at one basic marketing ploy: benefits for the customer for spending money upfront. Cingular ring tones MyMEdia Club is no different. For a single fee, the customer gets credits that can be used in purchasing ring tones, graphics or whatever cellular superfluous fun a heart could desire.
As payment for signing up, members apparently receive bigger selections and save up to 40% over the cost of buying services separately. There are three different levels of subscription (Starter Pack, Super Saver and Premium Player), and, of course, you can upgrade at any time and save more money.
For $5.99 a month, you can get a Starter Pack, which gives you 15 credits to spend however you see fit. Used most efficiently, you can save up to 20%. By using this package deal, you tend to save about $1.49.
For $9.99 a month, you can be a Super Saver. The super duper number of credits in this deal is twice that of the Starter Pack and by choosing wisely where to spend those credits, you can save up to $4.95.
Finally, for a mere $14.99 a month, a Premium Player gets 50 credits and saves his or herself up to $9.97. It is at this point that I wonder who needs 10 ring tones per month, but you never know who is out there and what keeps them happy.
Of course, with these credits you can also by graphics or games, which could make the stress of spending 50 credits a month a little more bearable. It is completely encouraged to mix and match your tones, pictures and play things. On the down side, if you don’t use it, you lose it – the credits, that is. If you don’t use up your credits by the end of the billing month, then they don’t roll over.
Cingular also has Answer Tones – music that plays for the person calling you instead of the classic ring, ring, ring (as opposed to modern tones, which are sported like bling bling). The service costs $0.99 per month and each Answer Tone costs $1.99 to download. You can have up to 99 Answer Tones in your cell phone library at any given time and choose who hears what when they call you. These Answer Tones work no matter where you are – local, roaming or even abroad - just as long as you have a signal.
