This isn’t a message that Verizon and AT&T are broadcasting widely, but you don’t have to pay for ringtones. And if you’re like me, the ringtone market doesn’t serve you so well anyway because a lot of your favorite music is from indie artists who may not be popular enough for the companies that produce tones to mess with.

But if you have an audio file on your computer (and this includes any audio file you can find online and download) you can use a free Web service to  convert that file to a ringtone.

1. Go to MyxerTones.com.
2. Follow easy instructions to upload your file and send it to yourself.

Now, you don’t need more than 25 seconds or so of audio for a tone. So you might want to edit the file down. Mac users I guess would do this with Garage Band and PC users can download Audacity, a free multi-track recorder that will do a lot more than is required for this.

My new ringtone is Fiction 8’s “Hegemony,” a song I did the lyrics for. Band ringleader Mike Smith tells me the CD will be released this year. Can’t wait.