iTunes becomes seventh largest music retailer in the US

iTunes in the US is continuing on its war path to total domination following an announcement today from the NPD Group

22 November 2005 14:35 GMT / By Stuart Miles

iTunes in the US is continuing on its war path to total domination following an announcement today from the NPD Group that tracks music sales in the US that it is the seventh largest music retailer in America and the only company in the top 10 to be solely based on digital rather than combined sales.

According to The NPD Group, in the third quarter of 2005, Apple's iTunes Music Store broke into the top 10 list of leading music retailers, based on the equivalent number of units sold.

In Q3, the top 10 retailers were as follows:

1. Wal-Mart
2. Best Buy
3. Target
4. Amazon.com
5. FYE
6. Circuit City
7. Apple/iTunes
8. Tower Records
9. Sam Goody
10. Borders

“The ongoing and growing popularity of Apple's iTunes Music Store now positions the company as a leading music retailer, and continues to legitimize legal digital music retailing”, said Russ Crupnick, music and movies industry analyst for The NPD Group.

“With the growing interest in digital music, forecasts of more iPod demand this holiday, plus the stocking-stuffer appeal of iTunes gift cards, we can expect Apple to increase its share even more by year's end”.

The ranking information is sourced from NPD MusicWatch, a monthly tracking study of consumer music purchases, and NPD MusicWatch Digital, a monthly panel reporting digital music acquisition.

Full tags

Audio, Online, Music downloads, Apple