Apple on Forrester report: ‘the conclusion that iTunes sales are slowing is simply incorrect’

38 Comments

“Apple shares hit a monthly low Tuesday after a report on slowing song sales in the iTunes Music Store apparently tempered investor enthusiasm, but even the author of the report said Apple shouldn’t worry too much,” Katie Dean reports for TheStreet.com.

“Shares of the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker slid $2.61, off 2.9% to close at $86.14. Shares changed hands at heavier-than-normal volume,” Dean reports.

“For its digital music report, released Monday, Forrester Research analyzed 2,791 U.S. iTunes debit and credit card purchases between April 2004 and June 2006,” Dean reports. “The report found that iTunes sales steadily increased from the beginning of the survey date to January 2006, but tapered off in the following months.”

“‘With only two years of full data, it is too soon to tell if this decline was seasonal or if buyers were reaching their saturation level for digital music,’ Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff wrote. ‘During the previous year, iTunes revenue fell after the holidays but rose significantly in May,'” Dean reports.

Dean reports, “For its part, Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris says ‘the conclusion that iTunes sales are slowing is simply incorrect.’ Apple does not provide any financial details related to its online music store, but says 1.5 billion songs have been sold in the store. Kerris added that iTunes sales are 6% of all music sold in the U.S., making it the fourth largest music retailer.”

Full article here.

Related articles:
Blackfriars’ does the math: Apple iTunes sales are not ‘collapsing’ – December 12, 2006
iTunes interest climbs as one analyst claims falling sales – December 12, 2006
Akamai Net Usage Index for Digital Music measures real-time global consumption of online music – December 11, 2006
WSJ mistake: ‘digital-music sales have stalled for the first time since Apple launched iTunes Store’ – December 06, 2006
Digital downloads drive world music sales in first half of 2006 – October 13, 2006
Study reports the obvious: most music on iPods not from iTunes Store – September 17, 2006
Apple iTunes Gift Cards help boost growth of digital music in U.S. – April 21, 2006

38 Comments

  6. I remember Forrester back in the glory days of IBM. They kissed Big Blue’s ass as if they enjoyed the smell and the taste. They sneered at upcoming Microsoft as an impudent whippersnapper. Then, after Microsoft defeated IBM in the market, Forrester acquired a new taste in asses to kiss.

    Some day Forrester will yield to the then to be obvious to even the blindest amongst us and learn to put their lips on yet another corporate posterior, Apple’s.

    Reply

  8. There was a story just like this last year at this time. Everyone went crazy about the so-called falling sales on iTunes and when Apple released their numbers they were off the chart. I think all this is is a slight sales slump preceeding Christmas; everyone is buying gift cards.

    Reply

  9. The nothing-is-ever-good-enough mentality of American business analysts is monstrously and preposterously out of whack. All it takes is one report of a possible seasonal downturn to trigger outcries of impending doom.

    Some people only feel alive when they’re running around shouting, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!”

    The best place for Chicken Little is in the stewpot.

    Reply

  12. These Apple doomsayers just make me feel like buying something from the Music Store today.

    If i could reach out and smack one of em upside their pointy heads I would.

    Since that’s not an option, I’m gonna do the next best thing.

    Let’s show our support for Apple, the ipod, and the iTunes Music Store.

    Go buy a song, a movie, whatever.

    I’ll meet you there! Apple Computer ROCKS!

    Reply

  13. “or if buyers were reaching their saturation level for digital music”

    WTF? That would mean there is no P2P piracy!!!!! We are saturated with digital music!!!!!

    “Apple has been steadily selling just 20 iTunes tracks for each iPod sold, suggesting that even at 99 cents, most customers still aren’t sold on the value of digital music”

    Again, WTF?!?!?! No, looking at correlations between the two are fscking useless, dipshit. They are not intrinsically linked, you douche! You do not need an iPod to listen to tracks purchased through iTs. You do not need to buy songs from iTS to use an iPod. Sure, you can listen to tracks from iTS on an iPod, but the correlation does not saying anything about iPod sales or iTS sales, the public’s view of downloading tracks a la carte, or the public’s demand for “digital music”, which I assume he means downloads.

    “In an interview, Bernoff said that even though song sales are down, it’s the number of songs purchased per iPod that should have the music industry, not Apple, concerned.”

    Dumbass.

    “burning CDs and sharing them, which is “done by more people than any other form of piracy.”

    I’m sorry, fsckhead, but sharing a CD with a couple of friends IS NOT FSCKING PIRACY!!! People have been doing this for years with tapes and it is goddamn fair use. You think this is even close to rivaling P2P? Then you are a moron. This Bernoff fellow needs to be rebooted.

    “He added that online music stores are “no prescription” to save the major labels. The companies need to find additional revenue from ringtone sales and selling unprotected MP3s, for instance.”

    Selling unprotected mp3’s through…wait for it…ONLINE MUSIC STORES!!!!!! Oh, wait. Maybe he meant by magic. What a retard.

    “Even if the report doesn’t spell doom for the iPod maker.”

    IF?

    Reply

  16. Thanks, Forrester. You let me pick up some cheaper AAPL shares.

    And Forrester, especially you Josh, next time you should do some math based on Apple press releases (see 10/26/06 and 2/23/06 and 7/18/05) and include some reasons why you think the credit card receipts don’t match up with what the math shows to be happening. Then you might begin to stop your downward spiral into irrelevance due to your lack of credibility.

    Reply

  17. The decline in Apple’s stock price is a gift to Mac investors;

    Now we can buy Apple stock cheaper and profit from its rebound;

    This is called a buying opportunity;

    Buy the dip; buy on weakness;

    Hold or sell on strength;

    Wake up early and place your orders;

    Buy Apple and sit tight.

    Reply

  20. “I’m sorry, fsckhead, but sharing a CD with a couple of friends IS NOT FSCKING PIRACY!!! People have been doing this for years with tapes and it is goddamn fair use.”

    Uh…assuming you mean duplicating the CD, I wouldn’t want to go to court on that.

    Fair use is usually defined as either for your personal use or to take snippets out to share with others as part of a review or discussion on a topic. Sharing complete songs with others doesn’t really fall into either of those categories.

    Yes, people have been doing this for years. There wasn’t really any way for the music industry to stop you from doing it. That didn’t make it “fair use”–it was just an unenforceable law.

    Reply

  22. Hey, hey, hey;

    You don’t like The Drudge Report?

    Next you are going to tell us you disapprove of F.M.U.G.?

    . . . the Fascist Macintosh User Group

    And you don’t care for N.M.U.G.?

    . . . the Nazi Macintosh User Group

    And you look down on the P.F.f.Ch.M.U.G.?

    . . . the Pinochet Fans from Chile Macintosh User Group.

    You must be part of the blue state intellectual elites.

    Reply

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