Music downloads ring in profits

The market of music downloads to mobile phones is one of the most rapidly-developing in Europe. Poland doesn't lag behind any European country when it comes to this technology-dependent trade. While the size of Poland's market (zł.500 million) pales in comparison to that of the UK (zł.18.2 billion), both are growing at a clip of several-hundred percent annually. Taking into consideration the lower density of broadband internet access and mobile phones in Poland, experts say this shows that while the country remains behind the West in terms of technological development, Polish youth (the main downloaders of music to cell phones) are just as tech-savvy as their Western counterparts.

Some Polish companies however, seem to be missing out on the action. According to the Official UK Charts Company, more than seven percent of all music downloaded in the UK this year has come from websites dedicated to music for mobile phones. Experts say that by the end of the year that number will rise to 15-20 percent.

The three companies dominating the UK market are not record companies, but mobile opperators: 3G Network, Vodafone and Orange. In Poland, mobile operators haven't caught on to the trend, so other companies, such as CT Creative, Bauer or Telekom Media have been providing the majority of mobile music downloads to consumers.

"There have been problems regarding law and property rights in Poland," says Andrzej Jasieniewski, investment director at MCI Management, owner of iplay.pl, a website providing music for cell phones. "That's why there are not mobile operators covering a majority of the market in Poland, but other companies such as ours. However, I do not perceive it as a problem. The market in Poland is ordered and its development is faster [than in Western Europe]."