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iTunes Store Reaches 28% Overall Share, 70% Download Share of U.S. Music Sales

Market research firm NPD today released data showing Apple continuing to hold a commanding lead in both overall and digital download music sales in the U.S. for the first quarter of 2010. According to NPD's data, Apple continues to dominate digital download distribution in the U.S. with 70% of the market, up from 69% in the year-ago quarter and well ahead of second-place Amazon's 12% share.

In the overall U.S. music market (physical CDs and digital distribution), Apple gained four percentage points over the year-ago quarter to snatch 28% of the market. Amazon surged by three percentage points to tie Wal-Mart for second place at 12% of the total market.

Overall, digital downloads now represent 40% of U.S. music sales, up from 35% in the first quarter of 2009.

The data comes as Apple faces a new antitrust inquiry from the U.S. Department of Justice over its tactics in the digital music download market. Just last week, Billboard published data from all of 2009 showing Apple firmly in command of the overall U.S. music market. Still, it remains to be seen whether the Department of Justice will consider Apple's competitive sphere to primarily be digital downloads, where the company holds an overwhelming proportion of sales, or in the overall market, where it also the top spot but with under 30% of the market.

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22 months ago
Bad timing eh ? :p
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22 months ago
Shouldn't the title be "...Digital Download Share"? CDs are digital too!
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22 months ago
So people clamor for HD movies on iTunes, but they are all set with the cassette tape audio quality? It would be great to see at least the jump to CD-quality audio on iTunes... sure SACD/HDCD would be nice too.
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22 months ago
Why do people try to claim iTunes has a monopoly on the music industry? It's kind of pathetic… Oh, Apple is so anti-competative! They have exclusive agreements with labels, OH NOES! :rolleyes:

I guess people forget it takes more than 28% of a market to have a monopoly…
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22 months ago
Isn't Monopoly trademarked?


And OBVIOUSLY Apple needs to be PUNISHED for their SUCCESS... it just isn't FAIR :rolleyes:
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22 months ago
Redmond and Mountain View...

START your PHOTOCOPIERS!!! :D
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22 months ago

Why do people try to claim iTunes has a monopoly on the music industry?


Because it has 70% of the digital trade and can conceivably raise barriers to competitors in the digital arena (and has arguably done so).

That's not hard to figure out.
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22 months ago

Shouldn't the title be "...Digital Download Share"? CDs are digital too!


Yes, you're absolutely right...was trying to keep things brief but chose the wrong word. Fixed...thanks.
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22 months ago

And OBVIOUSLY Apple needs to be PUNISHED for their SUCCESS... it just isn't FAIR :rolleyes:

You've got it backwards. What needs to be ensured is that consumers aren't "punished" for Apple's success through a lack of free and open competition in this market.
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22 months ago

So people clamor for HD movies on iTunes, but they are all set with the cassette tape audio quality? It would be great to see at least the jump to CD-quality audio on iTunes... sure SACD/HDCD would be nice too.


Yes. We need to pump up the quality. ANYTHING would be helpful. It is getting to the point where some stores do not carry many CDs anymore. So you are stuck with ugh, compressed music....
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