Ringtone boom comes to a close
Detractors of the Crazy Frog and other mobile phone ringtones can take comfort from research indicating the boom is coming to an end.
The UK download ringtone market grew 500% to £177m (€173m) between 2000 and 2005 as tinny reproductions were made of everything from chart hits to television theme tunes.
The popularity of the Crazy Frog, originally created by a Swedish student, spawned endless spin-offs and a number one single which managed to beat Coldplay to the top of the charts.
But the UK market is set to shrink almost 20% this year, according to music consultancy MusicAlly.
This is the first fall and MusicAlly predicts that within four years, turnover for the ringtone market will slide to just £78m (€115m).
Steve Mayall, of MusicAlly, said the controversy surrounding hidden subscription charges for certain services is one of the reasons for the decline.
“People have got fed up with being conned,” he said.
Consumers were buying what they thought were single ringtones but were unwittingly signing up for subscription services, he said.
“A huge amount of money was being paid which created a massive boom for the industry which wasn’t always using legitimate practices,” he said.
Although a code of conduct has now been drawn up, it is “too little, too late”, he added.
Another factor is that polyphonic ringtones are being phased out as handsets get more sophisticated. Some handsets are now capable of storing up to 1,000 MP3 files which enable a user to access up to 100 albums of music.
Given the choice of an annoying bleep-bleep sound or a full track which can now be downloaded from mobile phone companies websites, most consumers will choose the full track. These often only cost £1 – far cheaper than the £3.50 being charged for a 30-second loop.
Scissor Sisters I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ is currently one of the most popular full-track downloads.
And piracy is on the rise. Consumers can use Bluetooth technology to send tones directly to one another and software is available which can turn MP3 tracks from a user’s own music collection into ringtones.
As the UK market deteriorates, ringtone companies such as Monstermob, are looking to growing overseas markets to survive. Lancaster-based Monstermob generates half its revenues in China.
