Women outpaced men in purchasing ringtones by two to one during Q3 2005, reported Telephia, the leading provider of performance measurement information to the mobile industry. Sixty-nine percent of mobile ringtones were bought by women, while purchases by men comprised 31 percent of the total revenue share, according to the latest Telephia Mobile Audio report, which tracks purchase activity for mobile ringtones, including traditional ringtones, realtones, ringback tones, and voicetones. Overall, more than nine percent of the wireless population purchased a ringtone during the last quarter.

"Ringtones provide mobile users with personalization and individualization," said Brian Monighetti, Senior Product Manager, Telephia. "Cell phones have become everyday accessories, and consumers are looking for creative ways to make a personal statement with their devices. The strong demand for ringtones shows the kind of distinctive individuality music generates."

The majority of buyers for the most popular ringtones skewed a younger age demographic. Telephia data shows that 40 percent of those who purchased the Hollaback Girl ringtone by Gwen Stefani fell into the 18-24 year old age group, while 51 percent were 25-34 year olds (see Table 1). Twenty-nine percent of those who purchased the summer hit Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls were 18-24 years old, with 59 percent falling into the 25-34 age group. Bow Wow & Omarion's Let Me Hold You and Just A Lil' Bit by 50 Cent skewed a younger demographic, with the majority of those who purchased the ringtones being 18-24. Rounding out the top five ringtones for Q3, buyers for Mariah Carey's We Belong Together were evenly split among 18-24 and 25-34 year olds, with revenue shares of 38 and 36 percent, respectively.

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