Ringtones and ringbacks worth $2bn

Wait a minute, they're supposed to be dead...

New stats from Gartner on the music biz show that 'personalisation services' are still worth $2.1bn – that's a third of all online revs.

This is extraordinary, given that the market for ringtones have been - apparently - destroyed in mature markets by a mix of punitive regulation, PR scares and the ability to self-create ringtones on a smartphone.

This has seen companies like PlayPhone and Buongiorno either get out of the market or diversify hard away from it.

Indeed, according to the US music body RIAA, ringtone sales in the US were down 41 per cent to $260 million in 2010.

But, clearly those late night ads from the remaining market players for ringtone subscriptions still have some pull. And then there's the enduring market for ringtones and ringbacks in emerging markets.