Is the end of ringtones coming?

25th January, 2010 by adina
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A long decline has begun for cellular ringtones and the business is dying, as an IBIS World study says. The industry was worth $881 million in 2007, but yearly sales are estimated to drop to $750 million in 2010 and they probably will continue to decline by 2016, when they may finally die.

The death of the ringtone industry is due to the rise of smartphones and messaging phones. More and more phone owners use SMS and Internet-based services to communicate and they care less about voice calls and consequently about ringtones accompanying them. The prices for ringtones are relatively high as a clip is usually costing between $2 and $3. Such prices are likely to discourage customers disposed to ringtones or those who are trying to save their money.

The lack of software locks on ringtones is another reason for the fall of this industry. Devices like the iPhone and most of the Android devices are free to use almost any format of audio file as a ringtone. Some phones were artificially resctricted to built-in ringtones or to those purchased from the carrier.


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