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Wed, Jan 07, 2009 - 08:19 PM EST  —  AAPL: 91.01 (-2.01, -2.16%)  |  NASDAQ: 1599.06 (-53.32, -3.23%)

NPD: Apple iTunes Store maintains leadership as #1 U.S. music retailer
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 11:04 AM EST

Apple Online Store
According to the latest MusicWatch consumer surveys from The NPD Group, the five leading music retailers in the U.S. for the first half of 2008 (based on purchases of CDs and a-la-carte digital music downloads) ranked as follows:

1. Apple iTunes Store
2. Wal-Mart (Walmart, Walmart.com, Walmart Music Downloads)
3. Best Buy (Best Buy, Bestbuy.com, Best Buy Digital Music Store)
4. Amazon (Amazon.com, AmazonMP3.com)
5. Target (Target and Target.com)

NPD’s data reflects the ongoing consumer shift from physical CDs to digital music, as iTunes maintained their leadership position reached earlier this year. Amazon rose from fifth place to fourth primarily for two reasons: first, online CD sales have seen less erosion than CD sales at brick-and-mortar stores; and second, Amazon launched its digital music store, Amazon.mp3, last year.

“We expect Apple will consolidate its lead in the retail music market, as CD sales continue to slow,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group, in a statement. “Amazon’s CD buyers tend to be older, so they haven’t abandoned the CD format to the extent seen in the average music buyer. Plus Amazon’s successful introduction of its digital download store will help the company improve its position in the future.”

Source: The NPD Group, Inc.

MacDailyNews Note:
The Apple iTunes Store Milestones:
• June 19, 2008: 5 billion songs sold.
• February 26, 2008: 4 billion songs sold.
• July 31, 2007: 3 billion songs sold.
• April 09, 2007: 2.5 billion songs sold.
• January 09, 2007: 2 billion songs sold.
• February 23, 2006: 1 billion songs sold.
• February 7, 2006: 950 million songs sold.
• January 9, 2006: 850 million songs sold.
• October 25, 2005: Available in Australia.
• August 4, 2005: Available in Japan.
• July 17, 2005: 500 million songs sold.
• May 10, 2005: 400 million songs sold. Available in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
• January 24, 2005: 250 million songs sold.
• December 16, 2004: 200 million songs sold.
• December 2, 2004: Available in Canada.
• October 26, 2004: Available in the European Union.
• October 14, 2004: 150 million songs sold.
• July 12, 2004: 100 million songs sold.
• June 15, 2004: Available in UK France Germany.
• April 28, 2004: 70 million songs sold.
• March 15, 2004: 50 million songs sold.
• December 15, 2003: 25 million songs sold.
• October 16, 2003: Available for windows. 13 million songs sold.
• September 8, 2003: 10 million songs sold.
• June 23, 2003: 5 million songs sold.
• May 14, 2003: 2 million songs sold.
• May 5, 2003: One million songs sold.
• April 28, 2003: Launched in United States.

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Related articles:
iTunes Store tops 5 billion songs sold; Apple renting and selling over 50,000 movies per day - June 19, 2008
NPD numbers show Apple’s iTunes #1 U.S. music retailer - April 03, 2008
NPD: Apple’s iTunes Store now the 2nd largest U.S. music retailer; over four billion songs sold - February 26, 2008
Apple’s iTunes Store passes three billion songs sold milestone - July 31, 2007
NPD: Apple’s iTunes Store now the 3rd largest U.S. music retailer - June 22, 2007
Apple hits major milestones: 100 Million iPods sold, 2.5 billion iTunes Store songs sold - April 09, 2007
Apple’s iTunes Store passes two billion songs milestone; 50m TV shows & over 1.3m movies sold - January 09, 2007
Apple’s iTunes Music Store hits one billion songs sold milestone - February 23, 2006
NPD: Apple’s iTunes Music Store now the 7th largest U.S. music retailer, up from 14th last year - November 21, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs phones 100 millionth song winner at 12:45 am - July 12, 2004

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Reader Feedback: ( = registered)

Aug 05, 08 - 10:15 am Comment from: shen

shocked, just shocked.

Aug 05, 08 - 10:25 am Comment from: trousers

It's hard to believe Wal-Mart is second to Apple. I remember last year when they were in 4th place behind Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart...I never thought I'd see the day when Apple would top the list.

Aug 05, 08 - 10:25 am Comment from: Spark

5 billion songs sold. That's nothing. McDonalds has served more than 99 billion hamburgers (or reasonable facsimiles).

Aug 05, 08 - 10:37 am Comment from: twilightmoon

Yeah but can you eat songs?

Aug 05, 08 - 10:48 am Comment from: Spark

Allman Brothers: "Eat a Peach"

Aug 05, 08 - 10:50 am Comment from: Roberto

iTunes, beyotch!

Aug 05, 08 - 10:51 am Comment from: Roberto

Joe says, you tune a piano but you can't tuna fish.

Aug 05, 08 - 10:52 am Comment from: 84 Mac Guy

Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and Target are only going to see the ass end of Apple through the dust as Apple pulls away.

Aug 05, 08 - 10:53 am Comment from: @ Spark

McDonald's as we know it today opened in 1955 . . . 53 years ago . . .

iTunes started selling songs in 2003 . . . 5 years ago . . .

I couldn't find a timeline to see when McDonald's hit milestones, does anyone know when McDonald's hit their first 5 billion??

Aug 05, 08 - 11:01 am Comment from: ralph from berlin

same old mistake in mdn's list: 4 billion songs were reached on january 16, 2008, check your facts mdn!

the mistake probably occurs because apple on a press-release on february 26, 2008 gave that number again. so unfortunately no accelaration in itunes-numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes

Aug 05, 08 - 11:22 am Comment from: Steev

• June 19, 2008: 5 billion songs sold.
• February 26, 2008: 4 billion songs sold.
That's ≈ 1 billion in ≈ 4 months.

Like 3 Billion/year. Amazing!

Hypothetically, if Apple makes $.10/song, that's $300 million per year.

Pretty astounding!!!

Aug 05, 08 - 11:38 am Comment from: Macaday

Wonder what the breakdown of CD's to downloads was for Amazon...

I remember well Jobs saying the next target was...Target!

Aug 05, 08 - 11:44 am Comment from: Cubert

Imagine where iTunes would be if the record company monopolies treated Apple like all the other online retailers and didn't require DRM software.

Aug 05, 08 - 11:51 am Comment from: andintroducing

What are the ratios/market shares of these companies? That's the real question.

Aug 05, 08 - 12:04 pm Comment from: BizarrO BaLlmEr

iPods are still selling about 10-11 million a quarter, unreal

Aug 05, 08 - 12:16 pm Comment from: HueyLong

June 15, 2004: Available in UK France Germany.

October 26, 2004: Available in the European Union.

Err... all of the above are in the European Union, so it would be correct to say: "<i>October 26, 2004: Available in the rest of the European Union. And even then, MDN you didn't do your research. There's no iTunes store in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Sweden.

Sorry, fact-checking is a crucial part of journalism.

Aug 05, 08 - 12:21 pm Comment from: HueyLong

Ha! Correction... There is a store in Sweden! My mistake. See what I mean about fact-checking? However, the remaining four EU countries are without stores.

Having said that, why oh why the EU can't have one store beats me <rhetorical>

Aug 05, 08 - 12:32 pm Comment from: qka

Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and Target - Probably the 4 largest sellers of iPods, after Apple.

What was it Karl Marx said about capitalists selling rope to communists?

Aug 05, 08 - 01:16 pm Comment from: Olmecmystic

@Cubert: Great point.

Apparently as of today, the guy who's been responsible for this incredible growth, Eddy Cue, has been placed over MobileMe and the App Store, along with continuing to oversee the iTunes Store. He'll report directly to Jobs himself.

If he can do for MobileMe and the App Store what he's been doing all along for the iTunes Store, we can look forward to Apple kicking ass and taking names for a long time to come.

Make it so.

Peace.
Olmecmystic cool smile

Aug 05, 08 - 09:14 pm Comment from: clunker

Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and Target are only going to see the ass end of Apple through the dust as Apple pulls away.

At least Target and Amazon are respectable companies.

The rest can nose Apple's ass.

Aug 05, 08 - 09:24 pm Comment from: growth

5 billion songs sold. That's nothing. McDonalds has served more than 99 billion hamburgers (or reasonable facsimiles).

Well, McD's has kind of a lengthy head start.

We'll check back in 2056 to see how the numbers compare. Assuming McD's hasn't been outlawed or blubbered off their customers by then....

Hamburgers are the new cigarette. The witch hunt has just begun.

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