PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, November 21, 2005 – It was only a matter of time. 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 (note: numbers within parentheses denote retailer unit-sales position in Q3 2004):
“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.”
*Methodology Note: NPD used an equivalency of 12 tracks per album in order to create a comparison between physical CDs and individual tracks, or singles. 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.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
Since 1967 The NPD Group has provided reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today more than 1,400 manufacturers and retailers rely on NPD to help them better understand their customers, product categories, distribution channels and competition in order to help guide their business. Information from The NPD Group is available for the following major vertical sectors: apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, consumer electronics, food and beverage, foodservice, footwear, home improvement, housewares, imaging, information technology, music, software, travel, toys, video games, and wireless. For more information visit www.npd.com.