Polyphonic Ringtone Business is over

As lucrative as the global mobile music business is today -- projected to be worth $9 billion by the end of the year -- times are tough for the companies that started it all, writes Reuters

... "The polyphonic business, which used to be thriving, is pretty much dead," says Scott Jensen, vice president of global business development at Zingy. "It's now master ringtones and full-song downloads."

This change in format was a disaster for ringtone companies. In the polyphonic age, they licensed the music and created the ringtones, and sold them on wireless operators' networks and phones in return for a cut of the sale.

But with master ringtones, carriers wanted it all. Operators began striking licensing deals and revenue splits directly with record labels, and sold the new ringtones on their own."

emily | 4:24 PM | News, Buzz |
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