Who would have thought that musical ring tones were actually born in the Sydney suburb of St Ives.

But Ralph Simon – the man dubbed the “Father of the Ringtone” – is very happy to share the fame with the Australians who also helped pioneer this form of music distribution.

A man regarded as a founder of the modern mobile entertainment industry, his career has also includes stints as executive vice president at Capital Records and Blue Note Records.

Last, week we caught a brief glimpse ^[1] into the mind of Ralph Simon. This week, in a podcast, he talks with Brad Howarth about the opportunities for Australian innovators to break into global markets, ahead of his presentation at the X Media Lab Global Media Ideas ^[2] event in Sydney on June 18.