It's been often said that ringtone sales are slowing. Nielsen started tracking ringtone sales in September of 2006. That's over 13 months ago, so now we have a very clear view of a long-term trend.

Ringtone sales were 14.6 million units in October 2007, a 20% decline from the October 2006 total of 18.3 million. As a comparison, album sales are down about 14% year to date.

In March 2007, BMI projected a 9% decline in the U.S. ringtone market -- to $500 million from $550 million. Said Vice President of New Media and Strategic Development, Richard Conlon, "We believe that the ringtone market’s growth has leveled off and the novelty phase has ended."

In January 2007, Gartner projected global mono and polyphonic ringtone revenue of $7.1 billion for 2007 and a slight decline in sales for the following three years.