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Cellphone providers need to cut the price of wireless song downloads if they want that market to grow, says Universal Music Group chief executive Doug Morris.
Downloads to cellphones cost as much as US$2.50 a song compared with the standard price of US99c a song to desktop computers.
"I think the prices will come down," Morris said at a media summit in New York. Universal Music is owned by French media giant Vivendi.
Morris disagreed with the idea that consumers would pay more for the convenience of downloading a song while they're on the go.
According to technology research firm Ovum, the global market for sales of complete songs over wireless will grow from an estimated US$2.5 billion ($3.71 billion) in this year to US$9 billion in 2010.
Morris also said the price of ringtones, which sometimes sell for more than the full songs they are derived from, would likely come down or risk slowing sales.
- REUTERS
