Do ringtones/alerts follow a different policy?

I love how you can re-download songs from iTunes now as many times as you want. This is very handy if you didn't make a backup copy and you need to restore your device. However, I noticed that ringtones don't give me the same "download" button where the price is if I have purchased it in the past. If I click the price, it says "You have purchased this in the past, do you want to purchase again?"

Is that normal? Is there an understanding that ringtones is a one-time download only?

Now that I have gotten over my shock that anyone buys ringtones when you can make your own in Garageband, I've looked into this and it appears that you are right: because of the differences in "performance" rights, ringtones are a one-time-only download. Of course your ringtones are backed up onto iTunes on your Mac or PC when you sync your phone, so this shouldn't be a problem (ie you have a backup whether you know it or not).

Not much to say about ringtones but here is something to look out for about song downloads. You can re-download songs purchased from the iTunes store but don't count on that in place of a good backup.

I had to do this a few times recently and discovered one problem with it. Some albums/tracks you purchased may no longer be available in the iTunes store. I had this happen with at least one album Vanguard: Roots of Folk (Box Set) but there could be others. I am not sure why it is no longer available *perhaps a digital rights dispute) but the result is the same: Without a backup I would have been forced to re-purchase from somewhere like Amazon.

Great info! Thanks guys.

Sylv:

Sometimes the record companies license music to iTunes (and other services) before they've checked with all the parties (songwriter, artist etc) and have to remove the files if they don't get all the clearances. Sometimes for whatever reason, the intention is to license the music only for a limited time. And sometimes (this is probably the most common reasons) the rights change hands, and the new owner of the content chooses to no longer make it available to iTunes (et al), at least for a while.

Thanks Chas. I figured it was some kind of digital rights issue though you mentioned a few scenarios I had not considered. At least the music still plays once I found it in an old backup unlike the fiasco Amazon had where they removed some disputed content from users devices.