Despite the impact of the global recession, revenues from streamed mobile music services and full-track downloads are expected to show strong growth over the next five years, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
The report found that the combined revenues from these services are expected to increase from $2.5 billion in 2009 to nearly $5.5 billion in 2013, driven by a array of factors including a greater variety of applications and content, all-inclusive data packages, consumer friendly UIs and an increase in handset storage capacity.
While some of the more traditional music services – most notably polyphonic ringtones and realtones – are in decline across many markets, we’re now seeing a surge in the adoption of more sophisticated offerings. Recent positive developments, such as Apple announcing that iPhone customers can use the 3G network to download full-tracks, will offer a further stimulus to growth.
However, music services launched using an ad-funded model face a potential shortfall in revenue following a global reduction in advertising budgets: in the worst case, ad spend could reach just 50% of pre-downturn estimates.
Ringback tone revenues will exceed those of ringtones by 2010 as service adoption increases outside Asia. The Far East & China region will account for the largest share of mobile music revenues throughout the 2009-2013 forecast period, followed by Western Europe. Aggregators must expand the depth and breadth of their portfolios beyond ringtones if they are to remain competitive.
Juniper Research
