Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Tones for your mood

Video tones and background music are only set to ring the cash registers further

YOUNG `N' RESTLESS Video tones and BGMs target the teens Photo: R.V. MOORTHY

Your music on the go has just taken a giant leap. The omnipresent ring tones notwithstanding, video tones are here. And soon, we'll have background music (or BGMs) while we talk on the cell phone.

The new variants will take a while to catch up with cell phone users, but the music industry has woken up to the enormity of ring tones. Since the right marketing is what it takes and visibility or `audibility' can make your ring tones a hit, even regional film producers are all out to publicise ring tones. Data from the Indian Music Industry (IMI) indicates that at least five lakh ring tones are downloaded every day in India, generating Rs. 200 crore annually. The size of the music industry (read cassettes and CDs) has reduced by Rs. 500 crore as a result.

Realising this popularity of ring tones, service providers and music companies are working towards popularising classical music ring tones. "Film music constitutes 80 per cent of downloads. But alongside, we'll be looking to promote Hindustani, Carnatic and devotional music for cell phone users," says Atul Churamani, vice-president, publishing and new media, Sa Re Ga Ma.

The next developments are video tones and background music. One of the first video tones, `Lady Chatterjee,' is already drawing users. Video tones are ring tones that come with video clips and allow you to watch the clips whenever you receive a call. And the BGM service, yet to take off in India, will let you play a song of your choice while you talk to a friend. While video tunes work well only with 3G and 4G phones, BGMs can work on any phone.

What's your tune?

Music companies that were at war with service providers for revenue from ring tones, are now eyeing newer business models. Today, if you spend Rs. 10 to download a tone, a large portion goes to service providers.

About 20 to 25 per cent goes to music companies and composers. Now, filmmakers let their ring tones speak for their films. As Savinder sums up, "Regional tones constitute 30 to 35 per cent of downloads in the south and this will only increase."

SANGEETHA DEVI K

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail