Realtones Account for More Than 76 Percent of Mobile Consumer Spending on Music Personalization, According to Telephia

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 2006--

Revenue Share From Ringback Tones Has Increased Nearly 50 Percent Since Q3 2005 With Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" as the No. 1 Ringback Title

Realtones account for more than three-fourths of consumer spending on music ringtones to personalize their phones, according to Telephia, the leading provider of performance measurement information to the mobile industry. Telephia's latest quarterly Mobile Ringtone Report shows that mono and polyphonic ringtones now account for only 12 percent of consumer spending on music personalization products, down from nearly 30 percent in Q3 2005 (see Table 1). Ringback tones, which were launched in late 2004, now account for 11.5 percent of consumer spending in this category, an increase of almost 50 percent since last year.

According to Telephia, the number of mobile consumers purchasing a ringtone increased to more than 24.6 million in Q2 2006. While the overall market is growing, mono and polyphonic ringtones are losing market share to realtones and ringback tones.

"It's no surprise that mono and polyphonic ringtones have fallen out of favor with mobile consumers as realtones are a far superior format, much like how CDs replaced cassette tapes. This is all part of the broader shift toward consumers expecting their mobile devices to deliver a high-quality portable music experience," said Kanishka Agarwal, Vice President of New Products, Telephia.

Table 1: Revenue Share by Ringtone Type (U.S.)

              Quarterly Revenue Share
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ring Type   Q3 05  Q4 05  Q1 06   Q2 06  Percent Growth (Q3 05-Q2 06)
Realtone     62.4%  68.3%  76.2%   76.4%                         22.4%
Ringtone     29.6%  22.8%  13.8%   12.0%                        -59.4%
Ringback      7.7%   8.9%  10.0%   11.5%                         49.5%

Source: Telephia Mobile Ringtone Report, Q3 05 - Q2 06

-- Note: The Mobile Ringtone Report represents on-portal ringtone
activity data from the top four carriers, including Sprint Nextel,
T-Mobile, Verizon and Cingular. Data excludes pre-paid and corporate
liable activity. 

Popularity on the Rise for Ringback Tones

Ringback tones offer mobile consumers a way to personalize what their callers hear and the service has grown in popularity over the past year. Chamillionaire's Ridin' was the top revenue-generating ringback title during the second quarter, securing 3.1 percent of the total ringback revenues (see Table 2). What You Know by T.I. came in second, securing a 1.8 percent share. Hips Don't Lie by Shakira & Wyclef Jean, Mary J. Blige's hit single Be Without You, and Me & You by Cassie rounded out the top five ringback tones.

Table 2: Top Ringback Titles by Revenue Share (U.S.)

                                                              Revenue
                                                               Share
      Title                Artist                Genre           (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ridin'          Chamillionaire         Rap/Hip-Hop             3.1%
2. What You Know   T.I.                   Rap/Hip-Hop             1.8%
3. Hips Don't Lie  Shakira & Wyclef Jean  Pop                     1.5%
4. Be Without You  Mary J. Blige          Soul/R&B                1.4%
5. Me & U          Cassie                 Soul/R&B                1.3%

Source: Telephia Mobile Ringtone Report, Q2 06

About Telephia

Founded in 1998, Telephia provides syndicated performance measurement information to the leaders of the converging communications and mobile industries, including carriers, device manufacturers, content and application providers, retailers, infrastructure vendors and investment analysts. Telephia is the industry standard measure of subscriber share, customer satisfaction, device share, network quality, revenue share, advertising effectiveness, content audience and many other key performance indicators. For further information, please visit our website at www.telephia.com or call 415-395-0500.