Talk about suspect numbers: IDC has come out with some wild predictions: that worldwide wireless subscribers and customers to grow by a little more than a billion over the next four years, generating $800 billion in global wireless service revenue by 2011. Why did it stop there? While we are at it, why not a trillion?
Then, it expects mobile entertainment will account for 5.1 percent of this total revenue and 23 percent of all mobile data revenue. The vast majority of this mobile entertainment revenue will be derived from ringtones, ringback tones, and mobile TV and video services. According to IDC, ringback tones will overtake ringtones in 2010 and become the single largest revenue source for mobile entertainment due to a “variety of inherent advantages.” You mean annoyance factor?
That and the fact that you have to pay $4,500 for these numbers…they can certainly rack up $800 billion that way.
ringback tones has already been the largest revenue generator here in Indonesia, and South East Asia in general. the number of ringback activation even exceeds actual album/single sale by the artists, making it their main source of income rather than CD sale.
Project numbers aside, enough harping on ringback tones. If you think it's annoying, don't use the service. Other people enjoy the self-expressive nature of ringbacks and many of my callers ask me about the music they hear. Hmm, a simple, interactive mobile service that encourages music recommendations and consumption. I'd say that's a very positive thing for the music industry and the mobile market.
How about taking up the cause against people who leave the time-wasting voicemail greetings, "…I'm either away from my desk or on another line…please leave a message and I'll get back to you…yada3." – yes, I understand that you're not picking up the phone and may be doing something else, please just let me leave a message and get on with my day.