Consumers’ embrace of legal online music downloads grew ever larger in 2005, and with all the buzz about MP3 players’ continued popularity, it’s no surprise that legal downloads achieved a new record in the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
According to Nielsen SoundScan data, legal downloads nearly hit the 20 million mark in that key holiday week — almost three times the number of tracks downloaded in the same period the year before. The market research firm said that this new record smashed the previous weekly peak of 9.5 million tracks downloaded — and that record was set a mere week beforehand.
It goes without saying that Apple is the elephant in this particular room. Consumers’ love affair with the iPod still seems to be going strong, and iTunes entered the list of top 10 music retailers in the third quarter of 2005. Traffic to Apple’s site was hopping in the weeks leading up to the holidays, largely due to iTunes’ popularity.
As the Reuters article citing this data pointed out, downloads from peer-to-peer networks may still greatly overshadow legal download numbers. In addition, older data about CD sales suggests that they’re still a trouble point for the music industry. Still, the momentum for legally downloaded music seems destined to grow, provided it remains convenient and attractively priced. The time frame in question may have also helped the surge in legal downloads; it’s likely that many iPods were unwrapped under the tree or by the menorah, not to mention a flood of gift cards being redeemed for services such as iTunes.
The increasing momentum in legal music downloads helps to explain why so many companies want to get in the groove. Napster, RealNetworks, and Yahoo! are just a few of the companies that hope to compete in the musical arena. Major mobile phone companies also want in; just consider recent news from Motorola, as well as an autumn move by Sprint Nextel.
For me, the most significant element of this story is the amazing and continued success of Apple’s iPods and iTunes. There’s still plenty of opportunity for rival download services to gain market share, but for now, Apple still seems to be the name to beat.
January 9th, 2006
TOKYO— Apple® announced that iTunes® and iPod® are leading the digital music revolution in Japan with iPod market share almost 60 percent according to Business Computer News (BCN). Since the launch of the iTunes Music Store this summer and introduction of the iPod nano and fifth generation iPod, market share in Japan has grown rapidly, solidifying iPod’s position as the number one digital music player in Japan by a wide margin. iTunes is the number one online music service in Japan and its library has grown steadily with the addition of dozens of independent labels.
“It has been a tremendous year for Apple and music in Japan with the opening of the iTunes Music Store and the introduction of the impossibly small iPod nano and fifth generation iPod,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We’re delighted that Japanese music fans love the unrivaled combination of the world’s most popular online music store and the world’s best digital music players.”
“Consistently maintaining a market share surpassing 50 percent since September, Apple has grown to be the only winner in the portable audio market in Japan,” said Ichiro Michikoshi, editor-in-chief of WebBCN Ranking. “All eyes are on Apple to see how far it will grow its numbers in the holiday season.”
The iTunes Music Store in Japan features more than one million songs, 1,000 music videos, short films from Academy-Award winning Pixar Animation Studios, 11,000 audiobooks and 25,000 Podcasts. Since launching in August, dozens of labels including For Life Music, Geneon Entertainment and Dreamusic have added their catalogs to the iTunes Music Store. Newly added iTunes exclusives include tracks from Kazufumi Miyazawa, Zazen Boys, Motoharu Sano and m-flo, as well as international artists such as Stevie Wonder, U2, Coldplay and Björk. Exclusive music videos from Beastie Boys and U2 are also available for purchase and download for viewing on customers’ PCs or fifth generation iPods.
The iPod economy is flourishing with over 1,000 accessories made specifically for iPod, ranging from fashionable cases to speaker systems. One-third of the automobiles sold in Japan in 2006 will offer iPod integration with their car stereos, including Nissan, Mazda, Daihatsu, Smart, Suzuki, Alfa Romeo, BMW, MINI and Peugeot. In addition, an array of after-market solutions are available from Alpine, Clarion, Kenwood and Pioneer for automobiles that currently do not offer iPod integration.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.
January 9th, 2006
