Earlier this week, during the opening session of 3GSM (News - Alert) World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Warner Music Group Corp. Chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. raised concerns regarding the difficulties in buying music through mobile phones and the need for process improvement to meet growing demand.

Bronfman characterized mobile music downloads as complicated, expensive and slow. In a survey conducted last year, only 8.5 percent of users who own a phone with music downloading capability purchased through this method.

“So many platforms aren’t capable of even the most basic content configurations, like a track bundled with a video. That means buying the same content that would typically be included in an album over a mobile phone would be comparable to having to visit three stores to buy the album, its liner notes and the art work,” Bronfman was quoted as saying in a published report.

This complexity issue is best illustrated with buying a simple ring tone. Mobile phone users must click at least 20 times in a process that is completed in just 2 minutes.

In the same session, Bronfman urged both mobile phone and music industries to improve their process to satisfy their consumers and maximize this lucrative opportunity. The projected market for mobile music including over-the-air downloads and ringtones is around $9 billion this year.

Even the technically-savvy (and young) segment, including MTV fans, realize the difficulty of mobile music downloads. In fact, MTV Networks president of global digital media, Mika Salmi, said simplifying the process is vital to control the market.

On a positive note, Bronfman said he believes Apple’s (News - Alert) combined mobile phone and mp3 player, the iPhone, is going in the right direction. Set to market later this year, the iPhone already heightens consumer expectations in terms of interface and functionalities of music phones. Other mobile phone makers must cope with growing user expectations to gain significant market share in this industry.

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Leo Blanco is a contributing writer for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.