iTunes now represents 25% of all US music
updated 10:40 am EDT, Tue August 18, 2009
iTunes now 25p of US Music
Exactly one quarter of all music sold in the US now comes from iTunes, the NPD Group said today. Its portion of the market for the first half of 2009 is up from 21 percent in 2008 and represents 69 percent of the digital-only market. By comparison, Walmart now has just 14 percent of all music while Best Buy claims third place with an unspecified amount. In digital, Amazon MP3 is a distant second with just 8 percent of the market.
The researchers add that downloaded music still represents a minority of all music sales in the US at 35 percent but that it's growing quickly enough for Internet sales to match CDs in volume by the end of 2010. Physical sales are still led by Walmart (20 percent), with Best Buy second (16 percent) and both Amazon and Target tied for third (10 percent).
Apple's lead suggests relatively little progress for Amazon and that removing copy protection at other stores has had little impact on driving customers to competitors. Labels like Universal are known to have consiously withheld DRM-free songs from iTunes from late 2007 onwards in an attempt to reduce the effect of the iPod designer's "golden handcuffs" but gradually relented to where all iTunes songs were no longer restricted by April of this year. In exchange, however, Apple, Amazon, Walmart and others all agreed to institute variable song pricing that charges more for newer or very popular tracks.
It didn't work
08/18, 11:11am reply
As if anyone would have thought that silly shady oil slick salesman pitch from MS would work. Nope didn't do a thing, just like the stupid idiot laptop hunters!!!
slapppy
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2008
Huh?
08/18, 11:56am (1 reply) reply
Er....slapppy... there is absolutely no mention of Micro$oft in the article. I'm no fan but really...!!!!
Feathers
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 1999
Lossy Music Sucks
08/18, 01:00pm reply
... what else do you need to know?
Karango
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Joined: Apr 2008
Wow.
08/18, 01:15pm reply
Really, even as enthusiastic about Apple as I normally am, if you'd told me three years ago that iTunes would account for 25% of all music sold -- that all digital downloads would match CD sales by 2010 -- I would have laughed.
It's a really impressive achievement of vision by (mainly) Apple.
chas_m
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Joined: Aug 2001
Re: It's valid
08/18, 02:07pm reply
Which of those "shady" ads (and what was 'shady' about them? That they were bent towards Windows and not the Mac like Apple ads are?) had any type of message about downloading music? Or working with more music files? Or they could use it with a Zune?
Or is it that you see these clearer with the foil hat that hones your anti-apple sensors better than normal people.
Oh, and you do realize that a majority of iTunes users are Windows users, right?
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
valid?
08/18, 05:20pm reply
Are you serious, testudo?
He means the ad that has someone buying a laptop for producing movies, yet the laptop that's chosen has no movie editing program with it. The ad touts the low price, without saying the buyer must spend more for the needed software.
Just one small example. Some of the others are worse.
elroth
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Joined: Jul 2006
How does that work?
08/18, 05:28pm reply
"Labels like Universal are known to have consiously withheld DRM-free songs from iTunes from late 2007 onwards in an attempt to reduce the effect of the iPod designer's "golden handcuffs"..."
Does this mean they finally decided DRM didn't produce lock-in for Apple?
resuna
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Joined: Jan 2005
Actually...
08/18, 10:37pm reply
I think slapppy is talking about this marketing piece Microsoft put together a couple of months ago slanting on how expensive it is to fill an iPod with purchased songs. This is as opposed to using their subscription service (which by the market numbers has been a complete failure, further proven by these market share numbers in this article):
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/microsofts-latest-ad-itunes-is-crazy-expensive/
I do agree he could have stated it a bit more effectively without the vitriol tone.
pairof9s
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2008
Re: valid?
08/19, 09:14am reply
He means the ad that has someone buying a laptop for producing movies, yet the laptop that's chosen has no movie editing program with it. The ad touts the low price, without saying the buyer must spend more for the needed software.
What in the h*** does movie editing have to do with itunes?
Um, and there is Microsoft Movie Maker, or doesn't that count for some reason?
LouZer
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Joined: Nov 2000