[By Robert Andrews] Over half of mobile users regularly change their handset ringtone—but only 13 percent of them pay for those tunes, according to new data. Presenting figures from Informa Telecoms & Media, the research firm’s Daniel Winterbottom told MidemNet attendees: “There’s a wide gap there - something is missing. Whether it’s the ease of use in downloading or the perceived value, it’s important we try to identify where the gap is stemming from.” The data suggests consumers are ripping ringtones from their own music collection or obtaining them from friends, rather than buying them from dedicated services. Meanwhile, while almost all consumers are aware their handsets can play music, only 27 percent have done so - and a majority of consumers recorded a negative experience with mobile music, research results showed.
Questioning the effectiveness of digital rights management standards, Winterbottom added: “I don’t know how much sense it makes to charge people twice to listen to something on two different devices.” Informa’s study was in partnership with Orange and is based on 1,870 Orange mobile customers in the UK, then backed up a qualitative online study of web message boards and forums by WaveMetrix. (Ed. Note: The language describing the study participants has been changed.) Some results:

Mobile consumer gender split:
-- Male - 45 percent
-- Female - 55 percent

Did you know you can download a track for less than the price of a CD single?
-- Only 59 percent of the key 25-34 age bracket.

Which mobile services have you used in the last three months?
-- Changed ringtone - 51 percent
-- Listened to music - 27 percent
-- Changed ringback tone - 19 percent
-- Listened to radio - 18 percent
-- Created my own ringtone - 7 percent

Monthly consumer spend on mobile content
-- A vast majority of consumers spend £1 to £5 per month, the lowest amount, with a small number of power users spending over £35 per month.

Which of these services have you paid for in the last three months?
-- Ringtones - 13 percent
-- Full track downloads - 6 percent
-- Ringback tones - 3 percent

Overall sentiment toward mobile music services
-- Negative - 64 percent
-- Positive - 34 percent
-- Neutral - 2 percent