Telephia has reported that 60% of mobile ringtone revenues are generated by realtones. Traditional mono and polyphonic ringtones comprised nearly 33% of the revenue share, while callback tones accounted for 7% of the total revenues. Telephia debuts the first ever actual audience measurement report for ringtones in its new Mobile Audio Report, which tracks purchase activity for mobile ringtones, including traditional ringtones, realtones, callback tones, and voicetones from an opt-in panel of more than 30K wireless subscriber bills.
According to the Telephia Mobile Audio Report, realtones from pop divas Gwen Stefani, Destiny's Child, and Mariah Carey were favorites among mobile users. Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, Cater 2 U by Destiny's Child, and We Belong Together by Mariah Carey were three of the leading realtones in July 2005. The Rap/Hip-Hop, Pop, Soul/R&B, Voice, and Alternative/Punk categories led realtone genres, comprising 76% of all realtone revenues. Rap/Hip-Hop alone accounted for a quarter of realtone revenues, with Pop and Soul/R&B posting 17% and 14%, respectively. Voicetones snatched 11% of realtone revenues, while the Alternative/Punk genre posted a 9% share.
Top Five Ringtone Genres by Revenue Share
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Source: Mobile Audio Report, July 2005
Note: Verizon data includes callback tones only; Cingular data includes AT&T subs only.
"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, Vice President of New Products, Telephia. "Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl is a great example, as the song has topped both the realtone and online digital download charts, but did not make it into the top 20 for mono/polyphonic ringtone charts."
"The desire for personalization drives mobile users to pay a premium for ringtones with downloads at $1.99 as compared to $0.99 they pay for the entire track online. Realtones' high revenue share shows consumers are willing to pay even more at $2.99 for tones that sound more like a real music track," added Agarwal."
Posted to the site on 13th October 2005
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/14382.php