Will Ringtones Go the Way of the Beeper?

Technology News asks the question: is the ringtone market here to stay or on its way out? Matt Kleinschmit at Ipsos-Insight, said, "What we're now witnessing in the mobile arena is similar to what has already occurred in many places outside the U.S., and represents yet another opportunity for industries looking to monetize U.S.-based digital music distribution. Through a combination of increased ringtone availability and the desire to personalize one's mobile phone with their favorite or the most popular rings, the growth in this already burgeoning industry will likely continue unabated."

However some in the industry argue full track music downloads might take a bite out of the ringtone mania. According to a Ipsos-Insight study "6 percent of mobile phone owners report having downloaded full songs to their mobile phone, with smaller portions of the mobile population experimenting with downloading ring backs, short video clips and music videos."

Kleinschmit added, "In many cases, these broader download offerings have just entered the market, yet we are already seeing leading-edge mobile users beginning to experiment with them. This suggests that users may be increasingly seeking mobile entertainment content options beyond just music-related offerings, and points to the potential for broader multimedia-related services that could be offered from a variety of distribution partners."

IDC analyst Lewis Ward said, "Ringtones is an emerging young [market]. Many people don't even have a phone that allows them to download a ringtone or just haven't ever downloaded a ringtone yet. So the idea that we've already hit some sort of saturation point is just not true. We are certainly not forecasting the disappearance of ringtones based on the emergence of full tracks."