Think the only ones cashing in on your need to ring with the coolest song of the moment? Think again. The same artist that is currently "blowing up" your phone is getting a cut of the $.99 to $2.99 that was just spent on the ring tone you just downloaded - yet another aspect of the growing personalization market of the high-tech industry.

Interestingly, while some consumers balk at spending $.99 for a full-length song on some popular music downloading websites, many of the same consumers have no problem spending 2-3 times as much that on a 30-second clip - in hopes to make their phone a little more individualized. As a matter of fact, year after year, ring tone sales have accumulated in excess of 4 billion dollars. Where is that extra money going? Right into the pockets of the same artists topping the charts.

While the most popular songs of the moment will probably always top the ring tone download charts as well, some consumers, (the bulk of them being teens looking to personalize their innumerable gadgets) are downloading television theme songs, and video game background music. A slice of the musical pie for these downloads goes right back to the companies who own the movie or game.

For those consumers looking to get in on the personalization game, but don't want to spend their hard earned bucks in royalties, there are now some sites that allow you to create your own ring tones. For a flat fee, you can compose your own ring tone, record your dog's bark, babies cry, or loved ones sweet nothings...and turn that into your ring tone. Now that's personalization.