August 29, 2005
Latin fans ready to dial up ringtones
The next growth spurt in the ringtone market very likely will have a Latin flavor, according to The Washington Post.
"With few exceptions, ringtones have remained largely a medium for hip-hop/R&B music, because of the genre's popularity and the wide acceptance of wireless services within hip-hop culture. Such hip-hop acts as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Lil Jon regularly dominate the Billboard Hot Ringtones chart.
But wireless operators are seeking new areas for growth and see the urban Hispanic market -- dubbed "hurban" -- as a prime target.
While the market for ringtones has exploded in Latin America, in the United States only a few Latin music ringtones have become best sellers.
The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that Hispanics will be the largest teen minority group by year's end, and will account for 20 percent of teens by 2015.
At the same time, Hispanics are the most prolific consumers of wireless devices, services and content. According to a Forrester Research report, Hispanics tend to buy multimedia-capable phones much sooner after their introduction than other demographic groups and replace their handsets more frequently".
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