mocoNews.net - Mobile Music Sales Will Reach ?3.2 Billion by 2012, But Analysts Say 'Tracks Must Be Free'

The music industry has to be prepared to give music away for free, according to analysts Screen Digest. In a study of 27 countries including the UK, US and western Europe, Screen Digest predicts mobile music sales will double from ?1.6 billion (£1.26 billion) this year to ?3.2 billion (£2.52 billion) in 2012. But full-track downloads will only make up half of that, with the rest still coming from things like ringtones. The report warns "paying for music is progressively becoming a niche activity as the value of recorded music is already in steep, possibly terminal, decline". Mobile music subscription services like Nokia's Comes With Music will be worth ?928 million (£731 million) by 2012, it is predicted - almost double that of "al a carte" full track downloads on ?508 million (£408 million). But the report says it is "almost impossible" to compete with Apple's iTunes - a service they say is only "around break even" anyway - and if there is to be competition, the wholesale price of tracks must come down considerably. Release.

Previous reports painted a similarly optimistic picture, such as this from e-Marketer which put the 2012 mobile music revenue figure at $1.4 billion (£850,000) for the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain alone. A dose of perspective was given back in April by a survey from Jupiter Research which found that two thirds of 1,800 American's polled were simply not interested in listening to music on their mobiles.