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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Masttones.com Presents First-Ever South Asian American Mobile Music Trends
(SAN DIEGO) Masttones.com, the first global channel of Indian mobile entertainment created by eMbience Inc., a leading developer and publisher of wireless software, presents the first-ever, South Asian American ringtone popularity trends.
Ringtones comprise over 10 percent of the $32.3 billion worldwide music market and will grow to $5.2 billion in 2006, according to the Hindu Business Line.
The booming demand for music on mobile phones has nearly offset the decline in sales of other formats, according to the International Federation of Phonogram and Videogram Producers (IFPI), which reports that global digital music sales in 2005 tripled, to 6 percent of retail revenue. This is a good indication that digital music, like ringtones, will grow considerably this year.
As the global market grows, Indian-themed ringtones are becoming big business at portals like Masttones.com, which currently sells mobile media in the United States, the Middle East, India, Australia, Thailand, and Latin America. Masttones reports a more than 31 percent increase in ringtone sales from 2004 to 2005, due to greater distribution and consumer adoption of ethnic mobile media.
Surprisingly, four of the top five downloaded ringtones were from albums released by labels with no connection to Bollywood, and three of the top five were Punjabi Bhangra songs. Due to its popularity as dance or party music, Bhangra is often called the hip-hop of South Asia. So itıs no surprise that these rhythm-based polyphonic and platinum ringtones sell globally just as well as hip-hop ringtones. Film-related songs also have become winning ringtones.
Top Selling U.S. Ringtones Song/Artist
1. 2 Dons and a Bitch / Sandeep Chowta
2. Dil Luteya / Jazzy B
3. Aim So High / Kami K.
4. Boom Shackalak / Apache Indian
5. 2K3 Nagina Remix / Labh Junjua ft. Metz andTrix
6. Aa Dil Kya Mehfil / Kishore Kumar
7. Aag Lag Jau / Sukshinder Shinda
8. Another One Bites The Dust / Queen
9. P.I.M.P. / 50 Cent
10. Hollaback Girl / Gwen Stefani
11. Ghostbusters / Ray Parker Jr.
12. Baby Baby / Sunidhi Chauhan
13. Belly Dancer / First Light
14. Thank You / Dido
15. Kal Ho Naa Ho / Sonu Nigam
16. Lose My Breath / Destiny's Child
17. Lose Yourself / Eminem
18. Feel Good Inc. / Gorillaz
19. Kaho na Kaho / Amir Jamal
20. Aaja Piya / Sunidhi Chauhan
Masttones also is developing a strong network of niche artists and distributors, and in January signed its 600th artist and 30th publisher.
This is significant because much of the global South Asian music market is fragmented, with artists recording for independent labels and distributors located in the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Pakistan, Thailand, the U.S., Poland, Germany, Kenya, Jamaica, Trinidad, and the Middle East. For North American cell phone owners, the service is available on Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Cricket, U.S. Cellular, Alltel, Cellular South, and Metro PCS.
eMbience CEO Nimish Srivastava notes that, Artists and publishers are finding new revenue and marketing opportunities through mobile content, which in turn is creating a new market for consumers, artists, carriers, and publishers alike.
For instructions on how to download the ringtones, visit masttones.com.
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