Forecast: Mobile music revenues to grow to $5.5B by 2013

Revenues from streaming mobile music services and full-track downloads are expected to increase from $2.5 billion in 2009 to nearly $5.5 billion in 2013 according to a new report released by market analyst firm Juniper Research. Citing factors including a greater variety of applications and content, all-inclusive data packages, consumer-friendly user interfaces and expanding handset storage capacity, Juniper notes that despite declining revenues from traditional mobile music services like polyphonic ringtones and realtones, consumer adoption of more sophisticated services is surging. Juniper contends that aggregators must extend the depth and breadth of their portfolios beyond ringtones if they wish to remain competitive: "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," said report author Dr. Windsor Holden in a prepared statement.

Juniper Research forecasts that the Far East and China region will represent the largest share of mobile music revenues throughout the 2009-2013 forecast period, followed by Western Europe. In addition, the firm anticipates that ringback revenues will outstrip ringtone profits by 2010 as service adoption increases outside Asia. Juniper adds that ad-subsidized music services face a potential revenue shortfall due to the global reduction in advertising budgets, warning that under the worst-case scenario, adspend could reach just 50 percent of pre-downturn estimates.

For more on the Juniper forecast:
- read this release

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