SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The mobile music market in Asia/Pacific will top the $9 billion mark by 2010, according to new figures from In-Stat.
The market for ringtones, ring-back tones and full-track downloads in the region reached $3.3 billion last year, the market research firm said. The “breakthrough years” for mobile music will be 2007 and 2008, however, as 3G services come online in massive, wireless-hungry markets including India and China.
Content providers are increasingly looking to mobile users in such markets, where fixed-line Internet access can be uncommon. Chinese users, especially, will help drive the market, ringing up $2.8 billion in mobile music revenues by 2010, trailing only market-leading Japan, In-Stat said.
“Ringtones have been the primary driver for mobile music growth in the past, but this will change as new mobile phones equipped with digital music file playback capability create a new market,” said In-Stat Director Bryan Wang. “As consumer preferences change, the future growth of the mobile music industry rests on ring-back tones and full-music tracks.”
