Apple Is Now the #1 US Music Retailer

Quantrell writes "A leaked e-mail shows that Apple hit the #1 spot for music sales in January. The article speculates that consumers cashing in their holiday gift cards may have played a role; but of course Wal-Mart and the other retailers sold gift cards too. The news is a mixed bag for the record labels. 'For the music industry, there is a dark side to Apple's ascension to the top of the charts. Buying patterns for digital downloads are different, as customers are far more likely to cherry pick a favorite track or two from an album than purchase the whole thing. In contrast, brick-and-mortar sales are predominantly high-margin CDs.'" We recently discussed Wal-Mart's role in the music business, back when they were selling nearly 20% of US music. For January Apple was at 19% and Wal-Mart at 15%.

Re:Who actually buys stuff from iTunes?

[imamac]

Who actually buys stuff from Wal-Mart?

Re:That's what Amazon is for

[STrinity]

They were initially more expensive, but when Amazon started offering 99Â DRM-free MP3's, Apple matched their pricing.

Psst! Amazon's DRM MP3s are $.89.