IT TURNS out that all those Chinese astrologers were wrong. 2005 was supposed to be the year of the rooster, but it's more like the year of the frog, as a mobile phone ringtone flipped over and turned into one of the year's biggest-selling singles.

Poor Coldplay and Oasis. Neither of these premier-league artists could compete with something which has proved to be far more appealing to the great music-buying public than either Speed of Sound or Lyla. Maybe the frog could capitalise on all this and play with both in Marlay Park in the coming weeks?

Let's not forget that the bands were up against a glorified ringtone. There was little chance of media commentators getting into a lather about a ringtone selling thousands of downloads. But if you turn that ringtone into a single, you suddenly have both the most irritating single since the last one from The Thrills and a fantastic public relations coup, as thousands of words and hours of airtime are filled with the frog.

Pop loves its novelties and fancy goods, so expect more such novelty hits by the end of the year. If music's answer to the Sudoku puzzle can sell a couple of hundred thousand singles and downloads - small beer compared to the revenue that Jamster, the company behind Crazy Frog, have been trousering from ringtones - you can be sure that eyes and ears are already searching for the next one.

Yet the bigger picture is, as always, the most interesting aspect of all.

Beyond the talk and the column inches using the single as an excuse to bemoan the current state of the pop charts and the inanity of the track in question, the frog is pointing the way towards the next musical gold rush.

Yes, there's gold in them there hills once again and it's the telecoms that have it hidden under their beds and mattresses. When it comes to new business models, the boys with the phones and lines hold all the aces.

It's a fairly sweet affair. The telecoms need to get their hands on music almost as much as the music industry needs their cash. Telecommunications may be the new rock'n'roll, but the profits to be made from overcharging people to make calls and send texts are simply not enough to satisfy shareholders.

Something else is required, and this is where "added value" comes in. As the telecoms rush in to make even more money by flogging ringtones, concert downloads and questionable exclusive 3G content, these companies are turning to music to provide unique selling points to keep the profits flowing in.

Despite what the merchants of doom might tell you about falling sales figures, music is still a sexy story. It still commands attention. Why else do you have the likes of Meteor running their own music awards, or 02 sponsoring a free pop band festival each year in the Phoenix Park? You can expect new mobile player Three to start splashing some cash around in the coming months and, judging by how it's spending its music budget in the UK, non-mainstream, niche events will take Three's fancy over here.

Naturally, few in the music industry are complaining. They see the telecoms coming their way with open chequebooks, so they think of a number and add a couple of zeros. Given how much record companies like to complain about being squeezed round the bottom line, money from any source is very welcome these days. Rampant short-termism, it seems, still rules.

But you can be sure that the telecoms are not so short-sighted. A company such as Jamster can afford to market and promote a single because of the revenue which the ringtone is earning. Like most singles, the frog was a loss leader. If it worked once, it will probably work again, so you can look forward to all kinds of unpleasant pop thrills in the future.

Here, anyone interested in buying a few "Kill the Frog" plastic wristbands?

jimcarroll@irish-times.ie

DISCOTHEQUE

Jim Carroll