Cool to pay for ringtones, not downloads say teens as 2004 draws to a close

(CP) - A funny thing happened this year in the digital music universe - teens were inspired to pry open their Hello Kitty wallets for 30-second ringtones while four-minute song downloads still couldn't shake loose a single penny.

And the threat of the heavy hand of the law continued to unfaze the notoriously irreverent group. At least one teen finds it funny that so much cash is wasted on music pirates.

"I'm soooo not worried," says Jami, a spunky 17-year-old Toronto student who, like many of her peers, consumes heaps of music round the clock.

Sooo not worried? That's like totally awesome because lawsuits are like sooo fun! It sounds like the RIAA will have an endless supply of teenagers to sue for, like, the near future.

The Grade 12 student, who wanted to hide behind her first name, feasts at the all-you-can-eat buffet of online music so often she had a hard time recalling the name of the last track.

"Maybe it was something by Eminem (news - web sites)?" she says, looking over to her boyfriend for assistance.

Ask the pretty brunette if she's heard of the much-hyped ITunes and she'll tell you yes, but she'd, "like, never ever use it."

"I wouldn't because I can get it for free," she shrugs, seemingly bored by the topic of downloading.

But ask her about ringtones and her face lights up.

She excitedly recounts having recently dished out "just two or three bucks" for Snoop Dogg's Nuthin' But A G Thang.

Does she recognize the irony in paying several dollars for a few riffs but helping herself to a whole song for nothing? Not really, she says rolling her eyes.

Jami and her friends pose the latest conundrum for music makers, who want to encourage music revenue from new sources like cellphone ringtones but also want to throttle teens who don't pay for their song downloads.

The industry continued to raise the stakes in 2004 fighting illegal downloading habits using the Federal Court.

Maybe instead of suing them you could, nah, never mind. Just sue. It's more awesomer.