Mobile Music Downloads Dominate in Japan[转载]
八月 17, 2005 – 7:37 am |Tags: No Tags
Mobile Music Downloads Dominate in Japan
While
ringtones and over-the-air (OTA) downloads represent a developing
market in the US, Japanese consumers are swimming in the deep end.
According to data recently released by the Recording Industry
Association of Japan, or RIAJ, mobile music downloads absolutely
dwarfed collections found on portable MP3 players. The trade group
counted 108.9 million mobile song downloads during the first six months
of this year. While that figure includes both ringtones and OTA
downloads, it completely eclipses a figure of 2.2 million songs
obtained on the internet and subsequently transferred to portable MP3
players. From a revenue standpoint, mobile-based sales represent 96
percent of the digital market, accounting for 13.6 billion yen ($124.5
million).
The figures
put a recent big week from Apple into perspective. While one million
iTunes Music Store downloads is impressive, especially after four days,
the real action is happening on wireless devices. Meanwhile, one
Japanese industry watcher wonders just how high iTunes Music Store
downloads can climb, with Japanese consumers notorious for jumping on
new technology releases. Elsewhere, service like Chaku Uta-Full from
Japanese mobile operator KDDI are offering command performances. The
service recently crossed the 10 million mark for full-track mobile
downloads in late June.
