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iTunes, number 2 with a bullet

by Scott McNulty Feb 26th 2008 at 11:30AM



I have an iPod, an iPhone, an Apple TV, and I manage all my music with iTunes as I am sure many, many other people out there do as well. Why do I mention this? Because some of my purchases (and yours too) contributed to making the iTunes Store the second largest music retailer in the US (according to NPD data) in 2007. That's right, iTunes is second only to Wal-Mart in sales of music (though the iTunes Store does lack those greeters that make shopping at Wal-Mart so pleasant).

Let's take a moment to reflect on this. Less than 10 years ago the idea that the second largest retailer of music wouldn't have a single brick and mortar store would seem ridiculous. Today, it is a reality and digital distribution can only get bigger. We're living in the future, I tells ya.

Apple also mentions that people downloaded over 20 million tracks on Christmas day alone. iTunes does face some tough competition (I'm a big fan of Amazon MP3), but the ease of use and integration with the iPod/iPhone really makes the iTunes Store a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks, zx.


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I have an iPod, an iPhone, an Apple TV, and I manage all my music with iTunes as I am sure many, many other people out there do as well....
 

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19 Comments

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Galley

If I have to choose between MP3 and AAC at the same bitrate, I'll choose AAC every time. I'm holding out for the rest of the major labels to go DRM-free in the iTunes Store.

February 27 2008 at 9:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
valthewu

one can only hope that apples webobjects-servers aren't treated as badly as wal-marts employees. and 70% of the music isn't produced in china.

February 27 2008 at 3:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Patrixck

well...they *do* have brick and mortar stores....which do help to boost their online sales by selling more ipods.

February 27 2008 at 2:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eric

It's only #2 if you ignore the 800 lb gorilla in the room, that being bittorrent and other methods of file sharing. If you consider piracy as a distribution channel, then Apple finds itself as a very distant #3.

February 26 2008 at 2:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Blaktornado

Labels will be reluctant about Amazon MP3 due to the lack of DRM.

Heck, even if the labels aren't then indie musicians will be.
I used tunecore to put my album on iTunes and until I realized Amazon MP3 was DRM free, I was going to submit to them too... but then I didn't. Piracy will be the end of music, sadly, and if the world goes DRM free then music (and more) will die.

February 26 2008 at 12:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Blaktornado's comment
Sam Katz

I find this very sad.. and not true. Johnathan Coulten has made a name and profits for himself completely drm-free, and actually creative commons licensed.

--Sam

February 26 2008 at 8:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason

I bought $80 worth of music on Sunday at Amazon's MP3 store. I spent $20 at the iTunes store, only because I couldn't get the band I wanted (The Bamboos) on Amazon.

I will continue to buy from Amazon as it's cheaper, and the quality is better than 128K AAC, and of course, no DRM. So I can play my files elsewhere, like through Traktor DJ Studio when I play a set with my laptop. I want to be able to use my music wherever I want, and not always on Apple's (or the labels') terms.

Yes I do like and own some iTunes Plus stuff, but I'd prefer MP3 all around. I know a lot of other people who feel that way too.

February 26 2008 at 12:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tony Ward

Yeah, Wal-Mart has the greeters, but whatever pleasant-ness they might impart is quickly neutralized by the guaranteed presence of moms screaming obscenities and wantonly abusing their kids in Aisle 2. Give me iTunes any day.

February 26 2008 at 12:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris G.

I am getting very impatient with iTunes Plus. Where are all of the labels that Amazon's MP3 Store has?

Amazon is getting more and more of my business now. Practically nothing I want is available DRM free on iTunes.

February 26 2008 at 12:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Chris G.'s comment
Chris

Dude, blame the big music labels. The guy from Universal has publicly stated is disdain for Apple. He doesn't want them to be the big kid on the block because Steve doesn't kowtow to the music labels. His nose is free and clear of brown debris.

The said they want Amazon MP3 to take market share away from Apple so they've licensed Amazon to sell MP3s with no DRM. The same tracks that are on iTunes all wrapped up in DRM. They want you to make the choice to buy the non-DRM MP3 and take market share away from Apple.

And it works for me. I try and find the track as an iTunes Plus song first, then I go to AmazonMP3 and look for the track. If neither service has the track then I find it the old fashioned way. I will never buy a DRM'd track again even though I know that hurts Apple.

February 26 2008 at 12:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mark

What I want to know is how far behind is Apple from being #1? Good luck finding anything on NPD's site.

February 26 2008 at 11:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David

I agree. It would be foolish to not recognize competitors like Amazon mp3, but the reason why iTunes is so successful is because of it's seamless integration with everything Apple. Just click Buy Song and it starts downloading right into the Purchased playlist in iTunes. It's the integration that makes it that much better above the rest (among other reasons of course).

February 26 2008 at 11:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
4 replies to David's comment
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