October 5, 200619 yr Sales of mobile ringtones are in decline Last updated at 13:08pm on 5th October 2006 Mobile phones: Ringtones are in decline Last year he topped the charts. Now the Crazy Frog's days look numbered. Sales of mobile phone ringtones are in terminal decline, says research out today. The rogue practices of some companies as well as the increasing availability of tracks and videos on mobile phones signal the death knell for tinny jingles. It will come as a huge relief to those fed up with the incessant, poor quality reproductions of chart hits and TV theme tunes - not to mention the Frog's teethgrindingly omnipresent squawl. And doubtless Coldplay will welcome the news. The band was kept off the top of the charts last year by Crazy Frog's Axel F tune. Figures from music consultancy MusicAlly show ringtone sales grew from £34.8 million in 2000 to £177.3 million in 2005. But they are expected to fall this year to £143.5 million and £78.8 million by 2011. Rob Wells, director of the new media division at Universal Music UK, said: "The ringtone business in the UK is now in decline. You can put it down to price, piracy and the Crazy Frog effect." It is also partly down to the way some ringtone firms tricked customers into thinking they were buying a single ringtone when they had signed up to costly subscription plans. Meanwhile, software is now available on the Internet allowing full MP3 tracks to be turned into ringtones.
October 5, 200619 yr And doubtless Coldplay will welcome the news. The band was kept off the top of the charts last year by Crazy Frog's Axel F tune. do they actually care????
October 5, 200619 yr If they never get a number one in their careers they'll care (and definately remember) alright! They'll probably remember Darius Danesh and wish he'd turned into a frog as well.
October 5, 200619 yr Author If they never get a number one in their careers they'll care (and definately remember) alright! They'll probably remember Darius Danesh and wish he'd turned into a frog as well. I though he HAD!!:rolleyes:
October 7, 200619 yr The days of Crazy Frog and Co are numbered DETRACTORS of the Crazy Frog and other irritating mobile phone ringtones can take comfort from research indicating the boom is coming to an end. The UK download ringtone market grew 500% to £177m between 2000 and 2005 as tinny reproductions were made of everything from chart hits to television theme tunes. The popularity of the Crazy Frog, originally created by a Swedish student, spawned endless spin-offs and a number one single which managed to beat Coldplay to the top of the charts. But the UK market is set to shrink almost 20% this year, according to music consultancy MusicAlly. This is the first fall and MusicAlly predicts that within four years, turnover for the ringtone market will slide to just £78m. Steve Mayall, of MusicAlly, said the controversy surrounding hidden subscription charges for certain services is one of the reasons for the decline. "People have got fed up with being conned," he said. Consumers were buying what they thought were single ringtones but were unwittingly signing up for subscription services, he said. "A huge amount of money was being paid which created a massive boom for the industry which wasn't always using legitimate practices," he said. A code of conduct was "too little, too late", he added. Another factor is that polyphonic ringtones are being phased out as handsets get more sophisticated Given the choice of an annoying bleep-bleep sound or a full track which can now be downloaded from mobile phone companies websites, most consumers will choose the full track. http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/business/news/tm_headline=the-days-of-crazy-frog-and-co-are-numbered&method=full&objectid=17882309&siteid=50061-name_page.html
October 12, 200619 yr you know, the crazy frog thing used to be funny, now it's just annoying. thank god it's coming to an end :P
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