iTunes tops music retailer chart

Stephen Withers
Friday, 04 April 2008 03:04

Business IT - Technology

After running second behind Wal-Mart for seven months, Apple's iTunes Store has made it to the top of the US music retailer rankings.

Figures produced by the NPD Group's MusicWatch survey for January and February 2008 show the iTunes Store as the nation's largest retailer in terms of unit purchases.

The survey counts CDs as 12 tracks.

"We launched iTunes less than five years ago, and it has now become the number one music retailer in the world," said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes.

"We are thrilled, and would like to thank all of our customers for helping us reach this incredible milestone."

Earlier this week, ars technica reported it had seen a leaked email showing that the January the market leaders' shares were Apple 19 percent, Wal-Mart 15 percent, and Best Buy 13 percent. No other retailer took a double-digit share.

In related news, the iTunes Store in Germany has begun selling TV shows from local and US broadcasters. Episodes are priced at €1.99 or €2.49.