Ringtones' requiem

Customized cellphone rings are so 2004. But the music industry has a new source of revenue – it's all about the ringback tone, according to Fortune Brainstorm Tech.

U.S. ringtone revenue this year will reach about $750 million, down from $881 million in 2007 — and the business will be nonexistent in 2016, says IBIS World, a consumer analyst group.

...But the music industry, which reaped great rewards charging $3 for 15 seconds of content, still hopes to milk the mobile market for revenue even as ringtones fade. The ringback tone (a song that plays for inbound callers instead of a ringing signal) has seen tremendous growth. Ringback revenue has more than doubled since 2005, and it brought in almost $200 million for music labels last year, according to analyst group SNL Kagan.

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emily | 8:14 AM | Random Stats, Ringback Tones |
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