Ringtones The Multibillion Dollar Business
By Philip Nicosia, Sat Dec 10th
Yet another year's growth in the mobile ringtone market hasconfirmed its position as a major force in the music industry.
Once considered a passing craze, ringtones now account for morethan 10% of the global music market and are overtaking CD salessooner than expected. Few thought that the monophonic tones ofthe late 1990s would evolve into the multi-billion dollar marketthat exists today. But, following the advent of true polyphonicringtones in 2003, the realisation of their potential hasdeveloped a fresh momentum.
Unable to ignore the ringtone market, the music business hascome to embrace its future and its influence on youth culture.This is especially true of the hip-hop industry whose outputmakes-up more than half of all downloaded ringtones. Successfulartists such as 50 Cent, Mariah Carey and Kanye West have alllearnt that ringtones are by no means a niche product. To hearthe latest from the mobile ringtone charts visit Ringtones.lt
If there is a key to this success then it is probably thecreation of
a 'total product', that is, the full customisationof phones with ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, logos,picture messages and games. This has led to huge consumer choiceand demand, with endless catalogues of music and themes nowavailable on both mono and polyphonic phones. Another factor hasbeen the obvious media impact, with the likes of the infamousCrazy Frog ringtone experiencing unprecedented coverage.
This popularity should continue for a while yet, thanks toadvances in sound quality and the use of MP3 and Real Music bythe current generation of phones. There are still new markets toexplore as well, with the music-loving Latin Americans expectedprovide the next big growth area.
Ultimately, the long term success of the ringtone market coulddepend on the ability of the major phone manufacturers likeNokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung to combine the verylatest technology with wide-ranging compatibility; a balancewhich is becoming increasingly important in this truly globalindustry.
About the author:Philip Nicosia : http://www.ringtones.lt/
