Spend on Mobile Music ringtones
UK youngsters increasing spend on mobile music
06/04/2005 by Leigh Phillips
Young people in the UK will spend �220m (�150m) on ring-tones, ring-back tunes and downloading full songs directly onto their mobile phones, according to new research conducted by UK marketing consultancy Mobile Youth.
With CD single sales still in decline, the consultancy argues that the ring-tone is set to become the number one marketing tool for record companies and artists to launch the CD album. As a result, the analysts believe that in future the playback of music on mobile phones will have a significant influence on how music is developed and marketed.
The UK teenager spends on average �38 (�26) a year on music for their mobile phone, the group has also found.
The analysts believe that the eventual disappearance of CD singles will make it easier for emerging artists to raise their profile by releasing a ring-tone or full track download than releasing a single CD.
With the global market for ring-tones and mobile phone downloads to be worth in excess of �3bn (�2bn), the incentive is there for record labels and artists to develop music that will complement its release as a ring-tone or real tone. The amount of money spent on mobile phone music downloads will this year account for 16 per cent of the entire amount spent on music. By 2007 this will increase to almost a quarter of the entire music spend.
The evident popularity of mobile music downloads could yet lead to further implications for the industry, as whole genres of music, such as rock and other guitar-based formats, do not convert well into ring-tones.
Posted by keefner at April 6, 2005 07:55 PM