Study: Realtones generating the most revenue

Though polyphonic and monophonic ringtones still account for the most overall downloads in the U.S., revenues from digital realtones have far surpassed them, according to a new study by Telephia.

Telephia found that 60% of ringtone revenues are being generated from realtones, which use a digital recorded MP3 file to produce a tone, versus 33% for traditional monophonic or polyphonic ringtones, which use Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) or other technologies to reproduce a song. Those revenues, however, come not from sheer volumes of tones downloaded but from the premiums customers are willing to pay for the enhanced quality service. Realtones accounted for 41% of ringtones downloaded compared to 49% for polyphonic and monophonic tones. The average price of a realtone, however, is $2.99 versus $1.99 for its MIDI counterpart, according to Telephia’s new Mobile Audio Report.

Telephia analysts said that customers are willing to pay more for the better quality of a realtone, which, unlike polyphonic and monophonic tones, can reproduce vocals. In particular, songs that are vocal heavy and are enjoying success as full-track digital downloads are much more likely to be successful as realtones, said Kanishka Agarwal, vice president of new products at Telephia.

“Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’ is a great example, as the song has topped both the realtone and the online digital download charts, but did not make it into the top 20 for mono/polyphonic ringtone charts,” Agarwal said.