Mobile Music On $17.5B Track Despite Ringtone Decline

The global mobile music market is expected to rise to more than $17.5 billion by 2012, driven by subscription music services and full-track downloads, according to a new report by Juniper Research.

“I think it’s fair to say that 2007 marked the tipping point as far as mobile music adoption was concerned," says report author Dr Windsor Holden.  "Far more subscribers began downloading and subscribing to music content in developed markets, and it must be said that that the publicity surrounding the iPhone launch undoubtedly contributed to consumer awareness of mobile music services per se.”

However, the Juniper report also argues that current prices for ringtones are unsustainable and may already have peaked in a number of developed markets, arguing that competitive pricing allied to a steady migration to ad-funded and self-generated ringtones causing the decline.

Other findings from the Juniper report include:

• The China/Far East region will remain the largest regional marketplace for mobile music services, accounting for around 43% of sales per annum over the next five years
• Ringtones, which accounted for 62% of the mobile music market in 2007, will account for just 38% by 2012
• The report argues that more operators should emulate the Vodafone model and introduce similar subscription-based music rental services

White papers and further details of the study "Mobile Music Services: Ringtones, Ringback Tones and Original Recordings" can be downloaded free here.