“Apple computer today launched their own pay-per-download music system for Mac users via Apple’s incredibly slick iTunes music management software (available free at Apple.com). Apple users that love music use iTunes as their command center for managing their MP3 files, ripping CDs and now in version 4 of iTunes, buying music,” reports audiorevolution.com.
The article continues, “What is most notable about iTunes is how seamless[ly] it works as compared to the peer-to-peer networks that have caused the record labels such upset. Can you still steal music on the internet using Kazaa, Morphius or Limewire? Definitively yes, but iTunes 4 offers some distinct advantages for your $0.99 per download. The speed for which you can search for songs and the relevance of the searches is absolutely superior to the peer-to-peer networks. The 30 second demos allow you to shop for music in ways that brick and mortar record stores should be scared of.”
audiorevolution.com then goes on to shock and awe us by correctly stating Apple’s share of the world’s personal computer market, not by quoting last quarter’s market share, but by estimating the number of Macs in relation to the number of personal computers running in the world today.
“Apple is a boutique player in the world of PCs with an approximate share of the computer market at about 11 percent but what they do well they do very well. iTunes 4 is no different although it might make you think different.”
Very nice job, audiorevolution.com. Bravo! Full article here.
11%? 3%? 2%? Hell, what is their share?
2-3% is the percentage of computers SOLD in the last quarter that were Macs. 11% is the percentage of the computers RUNNING that are macs.
About 5% of ALL computers SOLD these days, are Macs.
About 25% of ALL computers USED these days, are Macs.
Doubt me. Then prove me wrong.
Yeah, thought so.
Of course, I’m NOT talking about the WinPCs that ARE being used ONLY to run games.
Hey, man. It’s called GameCube, check into it!
While I concur that Apple’s share of the market is far greater than what is typically reported, do consider that nowhere near every Mac in operation today is capable of running OS X, and therefore iTunes 4. However, with each passing quarter, as more and more “new world” Macs get to customers, that percentage will only increase. This, even if quarterly sales “decline compared to the year-ago quarter.” Declining sales are still sales, nonetheless, and I predict this decline won’t last too much longer.
11%? what percentage of these are able to use the music service, as, like the iPhoto order service, it is only available to the US.
They also forget to mention that a lot of people miss out on the Music store as they are not in the US, so what percentage do we have left then?
Despite the tech bubble bursting, computer sales growth is still occuring. If 11% of computers running today are Apples, that must have been the case in the past as well. However, Apple’s sales percentages have remained about the same or declined since before the tech bubble burst. That means that they have been selling computers to roughly the same total number of people for a while now. So even if Apple’s computers last longer than other PC brands they don’t last so long, or more importantly remain relevant (ie OS X) long enough for Apple to have maintained an 11% share of all computers currently being run.
Shares will probably go lower than 2% if Microsoft chokes OsX, with there Propriety DRM, and then we will be arguing over smaller percentages.
Don’t worry about their share. Just know that Apple is not going anywhere for a long time.
And before we get get too cocky, given that Apple’s share of new sales is 2% and seems to be declining (down from 3.5% when Jobs came in), that 11% will shrink over time, not grow.
And what does that 11% mean? Is it the percentage of all computers out there or of the ones actually in use? I own four Macs, but only use one, the others being obsolete.
Even if you assume the ‘four year’ Mac lifespan compared to the ‘two year’ PC lifespan (neither of which is really true, BTW) then you can discount any Mac sold more than say, six years ago, and any PC sold more than three years ago… which means marketshare of current systems puts Apple back down to less than 7%, more like 5%… which is right where everyone has it pegged.
Hey DaddyDude,
You’re wrong, in every way. Last quarter Apple sold about 711,000 Macs which is 2% of the around 35 million total computers sold. This has been true for several quarters.
Regarding user base, Apple claims there are 25 million Mac users, out of about 200-400 million PCs users, which is about 12.5-6.25%. Heck, there have only ever been 45-50 million Macs ever made, and only around 17 million can run OS X.
Doubt me? You can start here for the data: <http://www.pegasus3d.com/total_share.html>
Anyway DaddyDude, time to get back on your meds. You’re delusions are taking over again.
Apple’s total market share is irrelevant in this case, so there’s no point in debating it. All that matters is the total number of people- within the United States- running OS X, which is required for iTunes 4. That number would be a few million at best (and only a subset of those users will be interested in a music service).
The bigger question is whether the music store is a compelling enough feature to drive a few more people to Macintosh/OS X before the PC version comes out at the end of the year. The answer is “probably” since I’ve already seen it happen.
Apple’s music service is generating a ton of positive press. Imagine the curious PC users that visit an Apple Store or Mac-using friend to see what all the fuss is about. It’s a bound to make a good impression. Maybe they’ll be interested enough to look at iMovie or iPhoto. Maybe they’ll get hooked. Maybe they’ll buy an iPod, too. It’s hard to imagine that this could be anything but great for Apple.
In the last 5 years I purchased at least 30 Wintel PC’s and 1 Mac. Today of the 20 Wintels for me and my staff only 3 are left, the rest obsolete and gone. The one Mac is now my main PC (It’s a G4 AGP, 1999 Model). There is a Dell next to it that is hardly used. Considering it is going on to 5 Years of age the Mac is still really fast running OS X 10.2.5. That is Apple’s biggest problem, there machines are too well designed and do the job.
My family and friends are using Macs from LC3s to flat IMACS, I still use a 1984, 128 to produce amortization charts while some of my friends are scrapping pentium 2s. Macs run forever, don’t break down and save their cost in IT services in the first 3 years of service. A partner in the office decided to change from Macs to Windows machines, first year IT for 5 machines was $13,000.00. These were top of the line $3,000.00 machines. Since 1984, I have not spent one cent in IT for 25 Macs.
NEWS FLASH Macs market share is now -5%, and all of us Mac heads could give a you know what. The methods used to figure market share are assumed to be fault proof, and thats the problem. Most wintels live in the gray world of commerce ect. and as such are noncomputers.