Moantones and Moanbacks: Hot Air or Hot Profits?
- by Brandon Palmer
Just imagine you're with a group of friends, when suddenly you hear the faint sound of Jenna Jameson speaking the language of a 900 number coming from someone's coat pocket. What you don't immediately realize is that it's one of your friend's cell phones "ringing" with an incoming call. As silly as this sounds, it's already happening worldwide on a scale that's changing the way those annoying phones are perceived. Enter wireless ringtones - tunes that play - instead of the standard phone ring settings - can be anything from popular music to celebrity voices to old-fashioned bell sounds. Their adult counterparts, dubbed "moantones," tend to be short, funny sounds or phrases, but can be anything adult-related.
How large is the market and how do you profit? Some estimates put ringtone sales in the United States alone at as much as $150 million this year, and Sprint reported in 2003 that its customers downloaded 20 million ringtones and screensavers. Popularity is even greater in Asia, Australia, and Europe. Furthermore, it has been shown that most ringtone buyers tend to make repeat purchases. How much of this is adult-related is unknown, but there is clearly demand for the content if you can get it out there. Sites like Moantones.com offer a wide variety of tones such as "Speed Dial Vibration" and "I'm Getting All Wet." Ringtone prices tend to range from $1.50 to between $2.50 and $3 for the higher value ringers. While carriers normally take more than half of this revenue, this still offers site owners a chance to make additional profit by upselling their visitors and members. Another option becoming increasingly popular is the sale of ringtone cards, which can be purchased at retailers or online for a fixed price - another upsell option for adult sites.
On a more ground-floor level, a newer feature is hot on the heels of ringtones: ringback tones, which could be called "moanbacks" on the adult side. Currently most popular in Asia, these tones play, instead of the standard "ring ring" sound you hear when you call someone. They are bought and sold in the same manner as ringtones, and sales via subscription are common. South Korea Telecom, the first operator in the world to offer ringback services, had revenues of $100 million within 15 months of launch, and a penetration rate of 35 percent of all subscribers after 18 months. U.S. carriers are soon to follow, with other carriers around the world starting to implement the service. Moanbacks, or adult ringbacks, are practically non-existent, and aside from any concern about the sounds callers may hear, the market is wide open.
Not all moanbacks need to be X-rated though. Used as an advertising and branding tool, subtle "pitches" for adult services could be given, such as a familiar tone or an encouraging message brought to you by the company. Or, have your favorite porn star record a short message for callers, or a star featured on your site. Heck, this might be a whole new way for webmasters to spread word of their offerings at conferences or just about anywhere else.
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