Crazy Frog to blame for decline in ringtone sales

FOR those driven demented by the Crazy Frog and his infuriating mobile phone companions, it may finally be safe to take off the earmuffs.

The world’s largest record company has revealed that sales of ringtones are in decline, suggesting the rampant growth of the phenomenon that led to the Crazy Frog keeping Coldplay from the top of the charts has stopped.

Universal Music has disclosed that there has been a sharp drop in sales of ringtones in Britain and, according to analysts, the situation in Ireland is even more marked.

“The ringtone business in Britain has stalled and is now in decline. You can put it down to price, piracy and the Crazy Frog effect,” said Rob Wells, director of the new media division at Universal Music UK, home of artists including Eminem and U2.

“The situation in Ireland is even more advanced,” according to vice president of Universal International, Adam White.

“In some respects, Ireland lead the UK on mobile phone content but the hard-sell by some companies has particularly irked Irish consumers who are now more wary about parting with their money.”

The popularity of the Crazy Frog, originally created by a Swedish student impersonating the sound of a moped revving up, boosted in recent years.

But the controversy surrounding the sales techniques of some companies, with customers signed up to subscription plans when they thought they were buying a single ringtone, has made some more wary of repeat purchases.

Last year Jamster, the German-based company, was found to have been overcharging some Irish customers by up to 100% after an investigation by the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs.

Another factor in the decline in sales is the software available on the internet allowing MP3 tracks to be turned into ringtones and the increase in sales of full tracks and music videos over mobile networks.

“Subscribers are understandably reluctant to fork out for a 10-second snippet and because full tracks are copy protected, it is easier to control piracy,” said Mr Wells.

Another development is the emergence of phones capable of storing up to 1,000 MP3 files, allowing users to access up to 100 albums worth of music on the move and play them through a phone’s speakers.

Overall sales by Jamba, the company that trades in Britain, Ireland and the US as Jamster, are expected to drop this year to about $300 million (€238m) from $500m (€397m) last year. The company is majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which has a 51% stake.

“The ringtone market is experiencing a significant shift,” said Paul Goode, senior analyst, Europe, for mobile research firm M:Metrics. Its figures showed a 4.2% dip in sales.

However, any prospect that the Crazy Frog is about to be silenced forever may be wishful thinking, according to Adam White.

“The Frog has reinvented itself, so, it hasn’t gone away you know.”