March 5, 2005
Dial-a-Song
Newsweek writes about ringtones.
Just when the music industry thought its days were numbered, ringtones became the hottest way to distribute new music.
“[...] There's been so much attention on the music industry suffering woes, with three years of album sales declines in 2001, 2002, 2003, music didn't seem to be as big a deal as it used to be,” says Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts.
“Ringtones dispel the notion that music is no longer relevant to kids.” While hit songs are rarely downloaded off of Internet services like Apple's iTunes more than 50,000 times, Mayfield says it is unusual for the top ringtone to sell fewer than 90,000 copies.
With polyphonic tracks costing an average of $1.65 per ring and master tracks commanding $2.75, tacked on to the users' monthly phone bill, the music industry has taken notice.
[...] With the trend in ringtones heading toward master tracks—real clips of real music—the record labels that own the hottest recordings are getting into the game."
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