From almost nothing five years ago, the mobile music market in Asia Pacific is seen reaching $9.3 billion by 2010, after growing to $3.3 billion last year, according to research firm In-Stat.
The breakthrough years for mobile music in Asia Pacific would be 2007 and 2008, the research firm said, with growth coming from large markets such as China and India.
By those years, In-Stat said those two markets should have already reached a critical mass of mobile subscribers and 3G services would have already become prevalent across the region.
"Ringtones have been the primary driver for mobile music growth in the past, but this will change as new mobile phones equipped with digital music file playback capability create a new market," said Bryan Wang, In-Stat director. "As consumer preferences change, the future growth of the mobile music industry rests on ringback tones and full music tracks."
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