Apple: We are No. 1 in music
After a confusing 24 hours in which Apple watchers struggled to reconcile a Feb. 26 press release from the company that proclaimed iTunes the No. 2 music retailer with NPD data that showed iTunes in the No. 1 spot six weeks earlier (see here), Apple (AAPL) on Thursday issued a new press release declaring itself No. 1 for both January and February. The key sentence:
Apple® today announced that the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) surpassed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US, based on the latest data from the NPD Group*. (link)
Note the footnote, which reads:
*Based on data from market research firm the NPD Group’s MusicWatch survey that captures consumer reported past week unit purchases and counts one CD representing 12 tracks, excluding wireless transactions. The iTunes Store became the largest music retailer in the US based on the amount of music sold during January and February 2008.
Guess that clears it up.
Coincidentally, three of the four big music labels also made a big music announcement Thursday afternoon: a deal with MySpace to build what a spokesman describe as a one-stop music site that will offer downloads, ad-supported streaming and music sharing services. Downloaded music would reportedly be compatible with all MP3 players, including iPods. See here.
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with its $18 billion CASH Apple can try (also) to become the #1 in the new.space busines: http://www.ghostnasa.com/posts/027applenasa.html
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I think using 12 tracks per CD has more to do with the average cost of a CD being about $12.00. Not that the average CD has 12 tracks. Newer CDs’ may run about $15 but most older ones are less than $10. And many wait for a newer CD to go on sale for $11.99 or less before they buy it. Thus someone spending $12 for 12 songs on iTunes is about the same as someone buying a CD at WalMart.
Interesting about that footnote. Digital Daily reports that “8 of Wal-Mart’s 10 top-selling CDs contain more than 12 tracks, including one that boasts 22.”
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Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
If I buy a CD at Wal-Mart - I’m paying $12 for the (max) 3 songs I like. So about $4 per song. Much better to spend $12 for 12 songs I like.