Well, the good news for record companies is that they will be able to make some money from mobile music; unfortunately, says eMarketer, they won’t see as much as they’ve been hoping for. eMarketer forecasts worldwide mobile music retail revenues will grow from $2.4 billion in 2007 to over $13 billion by 2012—but full-track download sales will not even comprise half of that in five years. By that time, mobile fulltrack sales will rise from last year’s $631 million to $5.3 billion. Global revenue from ringtones and similar snippets will climb to $8 billion from $1.7 billion in 2007.

Ad-supported mobile music will not only provide a nice boost, it will also see the biggest leap in growth: eMarketer expects the category to sprout from a paltry $42 million in 2007 to a $116 million this year. By 2013, the researcher anticipates mobile marketers to contribute $1.5 billion the the music industry’s worldwide business. Looking specifically at the U.S. market, back in May, the Mobile Entertainment Forum projected the U.S. market for ad-funded mobile entertainment will grow to $336.35 million by 2013. The main attraction will be the promise of greater targeting to specific demos. But while helpful, the alternate revenue streams are not likely to offset the losses the business will continue to bear from piracy and the wider transition to digital. Release

• US Ad-Funded Mobile Entertainment Worth Nearly $340 Million by 2013: Report