Ringtones And Downloads Aren't The Same? Really?
A point we've made time and time again in discussing mobile music, and its pricing in particular is that the price of full-track downloads and ringtones shouldn't be related because they're different products with very different purposes. MocoNews today points to a survey that backs up the point, saying that the different usage of ringtones allows for them to be priced higher than full tracks. The firm also says that people are willing to pay a premium for mobile music downloads, and that the optimal price point for an over-the-air full track download is $1.75. This is far from clear, and it's important to point out that there's a big difference between people saying they'd be interested in buying something at a certain price to a researcher and people actually spending their money on it. As much as mobile operators like to think differently, there aren't separate markets for music downloads depending on the device used and its network connection. The going rate for downloads is 99 cents -- people won't make the distinction between songs for their iPod and songs for their phones, and pay higher prices accordingly.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
