Ovum also states they expect to “see high digital music growth in most regions across the globe, with exceptions being North America and Europe, where mobile music (ringback tones) is expected to actually decline by 5-7% (although this excludes unlicensed, non-music, and mobile subscriptions).”
“The decline in the growth rate of mobile music from previous forecasts is mainly due to the underperformance of ringback tones, the dominance of free ad-supported music, and data costs that are making over-the-air (OTA) mobile music less appealing to consumers,” said Ovum’s consumer telecoms analyst Mark Little.
Ovum concludes that the main driver of digital music in the forecast period will be subscriptions, due to it being “a format that can be easily bundled by service providers, as well as offered directly, resulting in increased penetration of subscriptions around the world”.
Ovum says the main driver of digital music will be subscriptions, due to it being “a format that can be easily bundled by service providers, as well as offered directly, resulting in increased penetration of subscriptions around the world.”
This comes as no suprise, as in western countries smartphones are utilized with subscription-based music services. However, Ovum states that telecommunications companies are helping to drive subscription growth with more mobile music bundles – pointing to significant growth in South & Central America, which have each seen over a 50% compound annual growth rate. [Allindstrom]
