The Quiz: Nokia’s trademarked ringtone was originally what?
A Finnish TV jingle
An opera aria
A video game chiptune
A classical guitar song
In 1993, Finnish tech company Nokia needed a catchy ringtone to go with its new cellphones. Because European patent law protects artists’ work for 70 years after their death, Nokia settled on a piece by the famous classical composer and guitarist Francisco Tárrega, who died 84 years prior. The famous ringtone, played an estimated 1.8 billion times a day at the company’s height, comes from Tárrega’s famous composition “Gran Vals.”
The correct answer to this quiz is A classical guitar song.