RSSAnalysts see 'ringback tones' part of a $40 billion industry
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published March 4, 2008, 6:38 PM
"Ringback tones" are about to turn into the single largest mobile entertainment revenue source, overtaking mobile ringtones by 2010, according to a new study by analyst group IDC.
If major record labels are looking for new sources of revenue, maybe they should throw more of their efforts behind mobile phone "ringback tones.
According to IDC, ringback tones -- tracks that people hear when they call you -- are set to become the single largest revenue source for mobile entertainment over the next two years, overtaking conventional ringtones.
On the whole, mobile entertainment is expected to account for 5.1% out of a total of $800 billion (with a "b") in global wireless service revenues that IDC is projecting by 2011.
Downloadable ringback tones are already widely available on the Web from a variety of sources, including cellular carriers ranging from Verizon Wireless and Sprint to smaller regional carriers.
One of these smaller carriers, a Kentucky-based company named Bluegrass Cellular, suggests on its Web site that, "for just a $1.99 annual fee per ringback tone and a $0.99 monthly subscription," you can "delight, tease, or exasperate your friends and family with personalized ringtone fees...Choose a different song or clips for every caller, and change them as often as you like."
Yet on their Web sites, carriers don't seem to tend to stipulate their own costs for acquiring the ringtones and ringback tones.
Many -- but not all of -- the ringback tones downloadable online are musical. "Comedy" and "celebrity voice" tones are also available, for instance. For the more economically minded, some sites offer "free ringtones," although often, some sort of subscription fee is involved.
Generational issues don't appear to play as much as much of a role with ringtones and ringback tones as some people might think. People over the age of 30 or 40 might not recognize names such as "Flo Rida" and "Lupe Fiasco" which pop up on Verizon Wireless' top ten list. But if you do some searching on the site, you can find ringtones taken from tunes by Elton John, The Police, and even The Doors and The Byrds.
You won't come across a ring tone from The Beatles or a Rolling Stones classic hit, however, except for clones by tribute bands.
Ringback tones weren't always all that popular with everyone. In a message board from 2005 archived on the Sprint Users Forum, some customers referred to them at the time as "stupid" and "immature."
Is it possible that, at this point in time, some customers might still resist downloading and using these tones, even if some are totally free?
CORRECTION: Please note our corrected headline, which gives the proper estimate as projected by IDC -- ringback tones themselves will not constitute an $800 billion industry. That was an error introduced in the editing process, for which BetaNews apologizes.
Ringback tones? are you kidding? thats the most retarded crap ever.
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Ringback tones (and music ringtones for that matter) are incredibly lame, considering that most people listen to crap music, so they put those same crappy ringback tones on their phone service, and I hate hearing someone's phone playing some stupid song instead of a standard "ring ring" sound.
They're a nuisance. Also, if you're going to give out your cell number for professional use, you should never have a ringback tone because it's a detriment to you if a business partner who's a "born again Christian" calls you and gets "Highway to Hell" playing back at them.
What's wrong with a standard ringing sound, what, people are THAT BORED that they have to be entertained by a phone ring? sheesh!
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I hate ringback tones. I listen to music because I like it... I can't hear the ringback when someone calls me, why would I want to pay for that? As for ringtones, well, phones are supposed to ring not play songs.
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...are set to become the single largest revenue source for mobile entertainment....
A ringback tone is entertainment????
People really need to get a life!
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Ringback tone...ah, I know few friend of mine use them. I don't personally care about someone using it...but I just don't get it.
Well, only annoyance associated with it would be the fact that it probably started billing me by the time it start playing the music. I get charged for ringing on cellphone anyways, so this is not big issue, but perhaps on Skype, or landline long distance, I can see it can be quite annoying even if it'd be just a penny. (And with Skype, if the call is under 5 seconds, I don't get billed...)
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Chi!
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Thanks :-)
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Funny, I thought ringback tones were a fad that had already ended. I can't even remember the last time I heard anyone mention having one or hearing one.
Must be something the kiddies use. (When did I get old?)
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I hear you there, on both counts.
I only ever remember one friend actually using those, and that was about a year ago.
I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who felt like mid-30's was "old" these days...
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It it just me or is this headline totally screwed up? The only part of the article that refers to the headline "800 billion" number is this:
"On the whole, mobile entertainment is expected to account for 5.1% out of a total of $800 billion (with a "b") in global wireless service revenues that IDC is projecting by 2011"
Which, unless I'm reading it wrong, says that so-called "mobile entertainment" AS A WHOLE, of which "ringback tones" are just one part, is expected to account for *5.1%* of TOTAL wireless service revenues by 2011. Presumably that category also includes ring tones, so even if we figure ring tones and ringback tones split that 5% evenly, each is only making $10 billion, a far, far cry from the 800 billion the headline screams.
Am I totally missing something?
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You're not missing anything, BCTech. In fact, we are: The headline I attached to Jackie's story was in error. Please note the correction.
-SF3
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Thanks, makes a lot more sense now.
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Fabulous! What a great world we've made...jesus.
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when there are sites like phonezoo.com and mobile17.com, why would anyone pay for a ringtone?
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There's a difference between a ringtone and a ringback tone. A ringtone is what you set your phone to ring to. A ringback tone is a song clip that a person hears instead of the standard ringing before a person answers their phone
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How strange. I have never bugun to think that I would use, let alone purchase a different tone for my phone. If I was, I would just import the mp3 and use that?
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Sounds like a pretty stupid idea to me. What's next? Someone calls you and your phone pukes in your pocket or gives you an electric shock? I predict those would be a billion dollar industry too.
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