“Gift vouchers for digital music tracks are helping to boost the growth of digital music in the U.S., a senior executive for Universal Music Group, or UMG, a unit of Vivendi Universal, told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday,” Jessica Hodgson reports for Dow Jones Newsletters. “Larry Kenswil, President of Universal’s eLabs unit, with overall responsibility for Universal’s new technology operations, said: ‘In the U.S. there’s been fantastic gift card download sales.’ UMG is the world’s largest music company by sales. Kenswil said the ‘seasonal’ nature of digital sales had taken executives at Universal by surprise. ‘Towards the middle of last year we were wondering if the digital revolution was over. But after the holiday season sales really picked up as a result of gift cards.’ Kenswil said gift cards were helping to introduce digital music to a generation of consumers who hadn’t previously experimented with the format.”
“The recorded music industry is beginning to recover from five years of falling revenues, caused largely piracy and the growth of unauthorized file-sharing Internet networks. However, the recent success of services such as iTunes and other music download services is seen by analysts as helping the music industry to recover,” Hodgson reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Why Universal execs are surprised by the seasonal nature of music sales is anybody’s guess. What, they don’t have enough decades of music sales data with which to allay their surprise? Such foolishness. Also, the full article, for some reason (misguided political correctness or something), attempts to include the piddling also-ran online outfits, but make no mistake: Apple’s iTunes Music Store has around 90% of the market in the U.S now. Apple’s iTunes Music Cards are the gift cards that are boosting sales. That fact bodes well for Steve Jobs as he negotiates another round of contracts with the “greedy” music labels.
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Related articles:
Report: music labels on verge of abandoning demand for variable pricing on Apple iTunes Music Store – April 20, 2006
EMI, Vivendi Universal music sales rise dramatically on Apple iTunes Music Store downloads – April 20, 2006
5,000 Coinstar machines in U.S. now turn spare change into Apple iTunes Store gift cards – April 12, 2006
Global digital music sales tripled in 2005 thanks to Apple’s iTunes Music Store – March 31, 2006
Apple’s iTunes+iPod market dominance underscored with more than 1 billion songs sold – February 24, 2006
Nielsen NetRatings: Apple iTunes Music Store visits grew 241% in 2005 – January 23, 2006
Record 20 million tracks downloaded from iTunes, others in week after Christmas – January 09, 2006
Apple CEO Steve Jobs to repel ‘greedy’ record companies’ demands for higher iTunes prices – September 21, 2005
Apple should now threaten to remove Warner Music Group’s content off of iTunes if they don’t reduce the cost of the songs from 99 cents to 89 cents.
The WMG stock would plummet, as maybe 20% of their total profits now come from the iTunes store.
I see iTMS music cards everywhere now. Even at the local Chevron gas station! That’s penetration.
No credit cards for me on the internet. iTunes Gift certificates and cards are the way to go. I also give out a lot of them to nieces and nephews.
Nothing like the gift of iTMS music.
Now we need iTMS porn for our viPods.
Ahhhh, the addition of Porn to the conversation-sex always finds it way into a conversation.
BUT! (no pun intended)
It makes a one hell of a boat load of money!!!!!!!!! AND—–
What would happen if Porn moved into music industry-would they “stick” it to them or “rub” them the wrong way? Would the greedy executives be sweating from the competion or finding a new bed-fellow or girl!
Only time will tell.
ITS A THOUGHT
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” Now we need iTMS porn for our viPods. “
You can site freedom of speech all you want, but the truth is you’ll be persecuted for the possesion of porn in the near future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4929578.stm
“Mr Gonzales also said that he is also investigating ways to ensure that ISPs retain records of a user’s web activities to track down offenders.”
I want a gift card for Mother’s Day cause I’m one bad mother (you know the rest).
I buy my US iTunes Music Cards from GiftMe.tv with a non-US credit card.
If you want the US selection of videos and music, but don’t have a US credit card it the next best thing… (and cheaper then domestic rates)
Isn’t it wild how the music industry is fighting instead of working with apple to promote their bands and groups with ads like “now available on iTunes”
The iPod’s are out in the market, now encourage people to buy your music.
Offer DVD type “bonus” videos or interviews to get folks to buy songs.
Apple doesn’t advertise iTunes on TV, they advertise iPod. Ipod is good for Apple and iTunes is good for the music industry, they get 80% of every dollar.