According to The NPD Group, while CDs remain the most popular format for paid music purchases, digital music sales are making up an ever-greater share of U.S. music sales. CDs comprised 65 percent of all music sold in the first half of 2009 compared to paid digital downloads, which comprised 35 percent of music sales. By comparison, paid digital music downloads comprised just 20 percent of sales in 2007 – growing to 30 percent of the music market last year.
“Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products,” said Russ Crupnick, vice president of entertainment industry analysis, in the press release. “But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010.”
According to NPD MusicWatch, when it comes to the unit-sales volume of music sold at retail – including paid digital music downloads and CDs – Apple iTunes leads in the U.S. with 25 percent of music units sold, which is up from 21 percent in 2008 and 14 percent in 2007. Walmart (including Walmart, Walmart.com, Walmart Music Downloads) remains in second position with 14 percent of music volume sold at their stores and Web sites with Best Buy ranked third.
iTunes also continued to solidify its lead in the digital music arena, as consumer downloads from iTunes comprised 69 percent of the digital music market in the first half of 2009, followed by AmazonMP3 at 8 percent. Walmart leads all sellers of CDs with a 20 percent share of the physical music market, followed by Best Buy at 16 percent and Target and Amazon tied at 10 percent each.
“The growth of legal digital music downloads, and Apple’s success in holding that market, has increased iTunes’s overall strength in the retail music category,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group, in the press release. “But the importance of the big box retailers shouldn’t be dismissed, as long as the majority of music consumers continue to buy CDs.”
MacDailyNews Note: The information above is from NPD’s consumer tracking of U.S. consumers, age 13 and older, who reported their purchases of physical product (CDs), digital music, and wireless over-the-air (OTA) transactions — excluding ringtones. In addition, NPD only tracks digital music tracks and albums sold a-la-carte, not music purchased under subscription.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
Music “purchased” under subscription is not purchased, it’s leased.
I’m actually surprised the 69 percent figure isn’t higher.
If iTunes has a 69 share, and Amazon has an eight share, who has the other 23 percent? Seriously, who else sells digital music these days? Haven’t all the others given up the ghost??
@Mike
Wal-mart is the 2 music retailer with Physical CD sales and digital downloads.
Don’t forget about CD Baby, Zune Marketplace and similar. They all may contribute very little, but the bottom of the barrel is quite crowded.
If I understood these numbers correctly, one in four dollars spent on music is spent on iTunes? Even for the US, this is nothing short of remarkable. I’m sure the trend will continue, and soon, iTunes will sell more than half of ALL music out there (including CDs). At that point, music labels will have effectively been defeated.
I’m counting the days until that glorious moment.
I believe that emusic is a factor in digital sales
The entire music industry will undergo a catharsis earthquake disruption within 2 years. Nothing will look the same, and these dinosaurs of the past will be rotting in their graves.
Ahem…CD sales are digital sales too. There is a difference between CD digital sales and online digital sales but no difference between CD sales and digital sales. How is it that an “industry” organization like NPD Group doesn’t get this?
hmm, it use to be in the 70s…
Jeff the Trader,
I agree. I don’t think it ever reached 75% but it was in the low 70’s. A minor change despite the record labels best efforts to screw Apple on pricing.
@Predrag
Read that again. Apple has 25% of “unit-sales”, whatever that is. Singles? Albums? Some other made-up metric?
It does not imply 25% of dollars.