Moblie phone ringtones : Future prospects

Ringtones are all about personalisation and have proved to be a fashion statement. People may choose their own style and not care about what is popular but they keep themselves updated with the ring tone trend. Today with everyone wanting to have the latest in ringtones, the market has grown at a pace faster than expected. Ringtone sales are on the rise and have even overtaken CD sales. Many artists are making money from ringtones, charging up to $4 for each ringtone. Ringtones sales have also overtaken legal Internet download services, such as Apple's iTunes, which generates under $100 million a year worldwide. Ringtones have appealed to people so much that they have now become a fashion statement. Sound quality is also improving day by day; latest handsets are supporting polyphonic ringtones and real tones, which are nothing but actual music clips. The success of these ringtones has created a huge opportunity for mobile operators. It has been estimated that mobile downloads could account for 20-30% of music sales by 2006. The speed with which the ringtone sales took off surprised just pretty much everyone. The reason behind the immense popularity of ringtones is the easy download process involved. You simply have to send a text message and the ringtone will be sent to you with charges automatically being added to your phone bill. The popularity of ringtones among the young generation shows that kids care about music in a very definite way. They're taking the song they like and using it as a way of displaying their identity. Now the question is whether the ringtones sales will continue growing at break-neck speed, or whether MP3-phones that offer consumers the ability to play full tracks will result in their end. One thing we know for sure is that at the moment, an increasing number of people are using their mobile phones to download ringtones and are paying a pretty heavy price for them. Through a combination of increased ringtone availibility and desire to personalise one's mobile phone with one's favourite ringtones, the growth in the mobile music arena has flourished. There is currently a demand for musical ringtones, but it is believed that with new phones being able to play MP3-quality music,there will be no need for this market. iTunes and MP3 technology will prove to be far more efficient than purchasing ringtones. The user friendly format of iTunes and MP3 will be so appealing to customers that the market will see the demise of the ringtone industry. The iTunes phone ultimately gives consumers more choices and the power to personalise their phone on a daily basis without additional costs associated with ringtones. Finally, time will tell if ringtones will be singing so long or if two related digital music markets will emerge.