from www.digitalmusicnews.com:
Ringtones Continue to Grow, Hit $4 Billion Worldwide
Date: june, 2005 (62705)
"And the Grammy for Ringtone of the Year goes to..." Is it only a
matter of time before we hear these words capping off the annual
awards show? According to the market research firm Consect, ringtones
are now officially big business, generating more than $4 billion
worldwide and $300 million in the United States last year. In a global
music market that's currently worth about $32 billion annually, that's
an attention-getting take. Corporate balance sheets are not the only
place where ringtones are making an impact: Billboard Magazine now
publishes a ringtone chart, and a pop song based on a ringtone has
topped the UK singles chart for 4 weeks, fending off the likes of the
Foo Fighters and Coldplay.
Music industry players see ringtones as a welcome ray of light in what
has lately been a gloomy digital music scene, with $4 billion in
revenue standing in stark contrast to the underachieving full-song
download sector. Apple's iTunes is approaching $500 million in total
sales, but is the only download store to make much of a dent so far.
And some labels are starting to sour on their relationship with the
company, worried that Steve Jobs has sucked them in to what is
essentially an iPod marketing scheme.
Mobile phone manufacturers and wireless carriers are excited about
their growing role in the music business, and their partners at the
major labels are eager to welcome them in. "This is not a fad that
will go away in the next year or so," said Thomas Hesse of SonyBMG
Music Entertainment in a recent Reuters interview. "Ultimately we
believe the phone will be the player of choice for mobile music".
Given the fact that wireless customers don't seem to be balking at
paying two to three dollars for a 15-second song clip, it's easy to
see why all involved are working feverishly to bring this vision of
the future to pass.
What does this all mean for the actual music, though? If economic
realities drive artistic choices--think of early 20th century
bluesmen, pruning rambling jukejoint epics into concise nuggets that
would fit on one side of a 78, or the explosion of musical creativity
that later accompanied the introduction of the LP--who can doubt that
musicians will increasingly be vying to see who can create the hottest
four-bar loop for your phone? That age-old dictum of A&R staff, song
publishers and radio deejays, "Don't bore us--get to the chorus", will
take on a whole new meaning.
Story by news analyst Michael Baker.
MSNBC "Ringtones make sweet music for record labels"
C|Net "Ring tones make sweet music for record label" |
