Mobile Music Revenues to Reach $14.6bn by 2013 Despite Fall in Ringtone Sales

A sharp fall in ringtone revenues will be more than offset by growth in full-track downloads, streamed music services and ringback tones, according to a new report from Juniper Research which forecasts that global revenues from mobile music services will reach nearly US$14.6 billion by 2013.

The Juniper report found that many of the key hurdles to mass adoption of full-track services have been significantly reduced, notably handset form factor, memory constraints, and (in some markets) a reduction of data costs. It said that these factors, allied to the increasing willingness of the major labels to participate in mobile ventures and the proliferation of user-generated content in the mobile space, were likely to drive push adoption and usage levels still higher.

Much of the recent interest in full-track downloads across the industry has been stimulated by the arrival of the iPhone and its successor, the iPhone 3G.

"With the arrival of the iPhone 3G it was clear that Apple was heading for this year's Gold Award," said report author and Future Mobile Awards panel judge, Dr Windsor Holden. "The combination of a handset with a wonderful UI and music player and an easily accessible, user-friendly music store is irresistible."

Posted to the site on 23rd February 2009