MOBILES IN TUNE TO RING UP MILLIONS.
MOBILES IN TUNE TO RING UP MILLIONS.

NORTH west firms are hoping to ring up a fortune as part of the mobile phone entertainment explosion.

The industry in the UK was worth GBP127m last year as mobile phone users downloaded ringtones, logos, voicemail featuring celebrity impersonators, and picture messages.

It expected to grow to GBP1.45bn by 2006, as more and more phones come on to the market able to offer games and text message services providing sport, news and traffic information.

About 70 per cent of British adults own a mobile, and nearly 90 per cent of 15-25 year olds have one. Industry experts say 40 per cent of people change their handsets every year. Ringtones - the tune played when your mobile rings - currently account for the bulk of the entertainment market.

Teenagers are the prime target market, and many change their ringtones every week to the latest pop hits, at a cost of around GBP2 a time.

Interest is also high among 25-34 year olds. The theme from the film Mission Impossible is the most popular choice for adults, but other movie scores, TV tunes and classic rock, pop and jazz hits are also in big demand.

Logos such as "MUFC" flash up when you switch on your phone, and picture messages, such as those for Valentine's Day, are other features which can be downloaded by making calls to premium rate numbers. John Doyle, chief executive of Ofex-listed Getmedia, of Newton Heath, Manchester, says: "It's all about personalising your phone. Your ringtone or logo is a mark of your individuality.

"Wearing a quirky tie used to be the way, now it's having a quirky tune."

John's ringtone is the theme tune to Friends, while his chairman, Peter Wilkinson, has Mission Impossible.

Ringtones account for 80 per cent of turnover at Getmedia, which was formerly called Songplayer and started as an on-line guitar and keyboards tuition venture.

Its own musicians compose the tunes and programme them. Getmedia's current best sellers include the theme to Peter Kay's TV programme Phoenix Nights, chart hits and Guns n'Roses' Sweet Child o'Mine.

John, 38, said: "Last year, ringtones accounted for about GBP500,000 of our total turnover of GBP750,000.

"This year, we expect overall sales to rise to GBP1.5m, with ringtones bringing in GBP1.2m.

"Until recently, ringtones were monophonic and sounded like Rolf Harris's xylophone, playing one note at a time. Now, polyphonic phones are coming on to the market, capable of playing up to 16 notes at once. The sound is incredible.

"It took our musicians 20 minutes to do a tune in mono, now it takes up to two hours to arrange."

The firm is investing GBP500,000 in polyphonic ringtones this year to cater for rising demand: ringtones are definitely big business. Stockport-based m4 predicts the overall mobile phone entertainment market will grow more than ten-fold in the next three years.

Last year, UK consumers spent GBP63m on accessories such as ringtones, logos, picture messages and celebrity voicemail; GBP58m on news, sports and traffic alerts, and just GBP6m on arcade-style games for their phones.

Managing director Steve Hughes predicts that, by 2006, we will be spending GBP216m on "accessories", GBP753m on alerts and GBP480m on games.

"Ringtones have accounted for 60 per cent of our turnover, but that is now falling. Over the next two or three years, sales of mobile phone games will be on a par with ringtones.

"We currently have 140 games available. Phones are now so sophisticated that you can freeze the game to resume later, and even break off to take a call in the middle of playing."

His company, which he founded with operations director Andrew Ford in 2001, was bought by iTouch last October. Further consolidation in the industry is expected.

Steve's firm has introduced swipe cards into more than 3,000 shops and supermarkets, offering mobile phone entertainment as a retail item.

The pre-paid cards are activated at the checkout. The customer phones a special number to download services. The cards contain services such as multiple voicemails, ringtones, horoscope, lottery draw or sports text alerts. Once they are all used, the card becomes a dud.

The group expects to be selling them in 10,000 stores by the end of this year.

Lancaster-based MonsterMob says 35 per cent of its turnover comes from ringtones. Polyphonic tunes should help raise the figure, says marketing director Michael Watt. The privately-owned business has invested GBP1.5m on its ringtones infrastructure.

"The mobile phone is not just a device for speaking to people, it's much more. "Games can help pass the time on a train journey, ringtones make a statement about yourself," he said.

Sceptics may note that many people thought text messaging would never take off - but Britons send 1.4bn messages a month. A total of 102 million messages were sent on New Year's Eve alone.