An estimated 30 million Americans have downloaded ringtones, with broader
    mobile content options poised for growth, according to the quarterly
    digital music study, TEMPO: Keeping Pace with Digital Music Behavior.

    NEW YORK, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ - Amid growing consumer interest in
PC-based music downloading and the expanding availability of mobile
entertainment options, new research from global marketing research firm Ipsos-
Insight shows that an increasing proportion of Americans are using their
mobile phones to download ringtones and are beginning to sample other mobile
entertainment content.
    Findings from the latest edition of TEMPO, Ipsos Insight's quarterly
study of digital music behaviors since 2002, reveal that nearly one-quarter
(23%) of American mobile phone owners have downloaded ringtones to their
mobile phones. This translates into approximately 30 million Americans within
the current U.S. population, and marks a dramatic increase over the past 12
months, when only 5% of mobile phone owners had downloaded ringtones.
    Young Americans are not surprisingly the most prolific ringtone
downloaders, with half of 12- to 24-year-old mobile phone owners reporting
they have done so (52%, 12-17 and 49%, 18-24). The research reveals that older
Americans are also experimenting with ringtones; 30% of 25-34 year olds, 17%
of 35-54 year olds, and 5% of Americans aged 55 and older having downloaded
ringtones to their mobile phone.
    "In the past 12 months, we have witnessed an incredible surge in many
digital music behaviors, including paid PC-based music downloads and sizable
growth in portable MP3 player ownership. What we're now witnessing in the
mobile arena is similar to what has already occurred in many places outside
the U.S., and represents yet another opportunity for industries looking to
monetize U.S.-based digital music distribution. Through a combination of
increased ringtone availability and the desire to personalize one's mobile
phone with their favorite or the most popular rings, the growth in this
already burgeoning industry will likely continue unabated," said
Matt Kleinschmit, a vice president with Ipsos Insight, and author of the TEMPO
study.
    To peruse the full release, with charts, please go to:

    http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=2750

    For more information, please contact:

    Matt Kleinschmit
    Vice President, Technology & Communications Practice
    Ipsos Insight
    312.665.0600
    matt.kleinschmit@ipsos-na.com

Link to this page: