Port Washington, N.Y. – While Apple (NASD: AAPL) continues to lead U.S. music sales with 28% of the
market, Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) crept 3 percentage points over the past year to tie Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)
for second place, with 12% of the market, according to a report from market
research firm NPD Group. Sales of digital tracks and albums accounted for 40%
of the overall market in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 5% from the
same point a year ago.
Apple’s share of the digital market remained essentially
flat over the past year, at 70%, while Amazon’s share grew 4 percentage points
to reach 12%.
Amazon’s share of the CD retail market also grew by 2 percentage
points, to reach 11%.
"Amazon’s growth reflects a stronger position in both
the CD and digital formats," said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick.
"This
dual-pronged approach of selling both digital music and CDs helps attract the
most valuable and committed music buyer who prefers access to both
formats."
Wal-Mart continues to lead among CD retailers, with 17% of the
market, followed by Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) (14%) and Amazon (11%).
Related Links:
http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100526.html
http://snipurl.com/wszmv
(Ars Technica)
