iTunes Sells 24% of All U.S. Music

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Apple's iTunes Music Store today sells 25 percentage of whol music sales in the U.S., and 69 percent of the entire U.S. digital music market. Relative fledgeling AmazonMP3 sells sensible 8 percent of all U.S. digital music downloads.

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Artwork: Chip Taylor

Market research company The NPD Group reports that while CDs remain the most popular format for paid music purchases, digital music gross revenue are making up an ever-greater plowshare of US music sales. (See also "Apple iTunes: How to Prepare and Manage Your Music Collection.")

CDs comprised 65 per centum of completely music sold in the first half of 2009 compared to paid extremity downloads, which comprised 35 per centum of music gross sales. By comparison, reply-paid digital music downloads comprised fair-minded 20 percent of sales in 2007 -- growing to 30 percent of the music market last twelvemonth.

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"Many masses are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said Russ Crupnick, V.P. of entertainment industry analytic thinking.

"Simply with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 per centum, and CDs down by an equal proportion, digital music sales wish nearly equal CD sales away the end of 2010."

According to NPD MusicWatch, when it comes to the unit-sales volume of music sold at retail -- including paid digital music downloads and CDs -- Apple iTunes leads in the U.S. with 25 percent of music units sold -- up from 21 percent in 2008 and 14 percent in 2007.

Walmart (including Walmart, Walmart.com, Walmart Medicine Downloads) cadaver in 2nd put together with 14 per centum of music volume sold at their stores and Web sites with Best Buy ranked ordinal.

iTunes also continued to solidify its lead in the digital euphony arena, Eastern Samoa consumer downloads from iTunes comprised 69 percent of the digital music market in the first half of 2009, followed aside AmazonMP3 at 8 percent.

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Walmart leads all sellers of CDs with a 20 percent share of the physical music food market, followed by Superior Buy at 16 percent and Target and Amazon tied at 10 percent to each one.

"The maturation of legal digital medicine downloads, and Orchard apple tree's success in holding that market, has redoubled iTunes's overall strength in the retail music category," said Crupnick.

"But the grandness of the prominent loge retailers shouldn't be dismissed, as long as the majority of music consumers continue to buy CDs."

The is from NPD's consumer tracking of US consumers, age 13 and sr., who reported their purchases of physical product (CDs), digital music, and wireless over-the-strain (OTA) transactions -- excluding ringtones. Additionally, NPD only tracks digital music tracks and albums sold a-la-carte, not music purchased nether subscription.

This tale, "iTunes Sells 24% of All U.S. Music" was originally published by PC Advisor (UK) .

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