So far ringtones are the success story of mobile data, and it seems they might be turning around the fall in average revenue per user. “The ringtone growth curve is a tough one to predict, though carriers and labels are aggressively diversifying into newer formats. The OTA (over-the-air) download is a natural next step, and is being driven by carrier desires to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) figures. “ARPU has not only stabilized, but is now going the other way, based on data,” said Mark Desautels, vice president of Wireless Internet Development at CTIA.”
The industry appears keen on a hits driven business based on the latest possible fad, something it calls mining the single. “During a panel at the Digital Music Forum on Tuesday, Verizon Wireless vice president John Harrobin pointed to a “mining the single approach,” which includes OTA downloads, ringtones, music videos, and ringback tones. “You can mine that single for the few weeks that every teenager wants the track,” Harrobin said, pointing to a hit-driven medium.” This is via TechDirt, where Carlo is unimpressed with the approach.
Subscriber content
?
Subscriber content comes from Gigaom Research, bridging the gap between breaking news and long-tail research. Visit any of our reports to learn more and subscribe.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Comments have been disabled for this post