Amazingly, Ringtones Are A $2 Billion Business

Here’s a breakdown of online music sales from Gartner, by way of Peter Kafka at All Things D. The most insane thing about this chart? How important ringtones are.

"To sum up: More than 10 years after Napster, one of the key pillars of the music business is ringtones, a business that peaked around 2005, when some of you would have recognized the image at the top right of this post.

If you’re reading this, you probably haven’t paid for a ringtone since 2007, and you probably don’t know anyone who does. But there it is, generating two-point-one-billion dollars."