Americans to go on a ringtone spree

Asia, Europe welcome Americans to the club as a taste for ringtones - ranging as usual from the good to the absolute worst - and other audio accessories is acquired.

According to a recent Yankee Group report, the U.S. audio accessory market is currently $80 million USD, and has the capability to reach $1 billion USD per year - a number similar to other major geographic regions. However, the research firm predicts, true wireless music will not hit the mainstream for a few years.

The Yankee Group has upgraded its 2003 United States ringtone market estimate to $80 million USD from $50 million USD, citing customers' sustained willingness to pay premiums for the right tune. By 2008, the U.S. audio accessory market, including ringtones, ring tunes and calling tones, will be worth $1 billion USD. Today's global market is more than $2.5 billion USD.

"As ringtones are the first globally successful mobile micropayment application, and true mobile music promises to be one of the first mobile macropayment applications, the music industry will have a profound impact on the shape of the wireless industry," says Adam Zawel, the Yankee Group's Wireless/Mobile Applications & Commerce director. "Specifically, record companies will drive the wireless industry to support a DRM (Digital Rights Management) framework - one that protects content within the closed environs of the wireless networks, and as it flows over local area connections to devices not connected to the carriers' network."

Also among the predictions of the Yankee Group is that audio capabilities will improve gradually and will play a greater role as an enhancement to games and multimedia on phones and PDAs; however, the pure audio experience of listening to music must wait for the development of four trends: home network growth, WAN improvements, device convergence and the resolution of wireless DRM.