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Ringtone market dominated by the real thing
More mobile phone users downloading clips from actual master recording of songs, research firm finds.
Mobile phone users are ditching the monophonic ringtones of yore in favor of "realtones"--audio snippets from the actual master recording of a song, according to a report from San Francisco-based market research firm Telephia.
Based on the purchases of more than 30,000 wireless subscribers, Telephia's Mobile Audio Report found that 60 percent of mobile ringtone revenues come from sales of real tones, which have the sound quality of MP3s and add vocals.
Regular ringtone downloads account for 33 percent of the market, the report found, while the remaining seven percent come from "ringbacks," or music downloaded by users in place of the ringing sound people hear when they call that user.
The report indicates that users are flocking to ringtones that sound like the real thing, as handset and ringtone sound quality has improved.
"Realtone downloads are more likely to mimic the success of online digital music downloads, given the inclusion of vocals and improved voice quality," said Kanishka Agarwal, Telephia's vice president of new products.
Agarwal pointed to Gwen Stefani’s "Hollaback Girl" as a great example.
"The song has topped both the realtone and online digital download charts but did not make it in to the top 20 for mono/polyphonic ringtone charts," he said.
The report also indicates that users are willing to pay more for ringtones that sound like the actual song instead of a monophonic facsimile, Agarwal said. Regular ringtones traditionally cost $1.99 per song, while realtones typically cost $2.99 per song.
The report found that hip-hop/rap is the most popular music genre for ringtones, generating 25 percent of ringtone revenues in July. Pop was the next most popular category, with 17 percent of the revenue share, followed by soul/R&B with 14 percent.
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