News

iTunes Downloads Christmas Spike

Wednesday, December 28th, 2005 at 9:50 AM - by Staff

There's no doubt that the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) is the leader in legal digital music downloads, and consumers drove that point home on December 25th, bumping up music downloads by 50 percent. According to MSN Money, sales at the iTMS shot up 50 percent between December 24 and December 25 as hundreds of thousands of new iPod owners started downloading music to fill up their Christmas present music players.

Overall, visits to music download sites were up 15 percent, compared to last Christmas. Music sales for the year have already hit 23 million. In 2004, that number was 4.7 million.

The iTMS is getting twice as many hits as its closest rival, Sony's Connect.

The competition for the number two spot is more volatile. This year, the spot goes to Sony, with a Apple holding a huge lead. Last year, Napster was second, with Apple in the lead by only ten percent. That same year, Sony held 15th place.

The two most popular Christmas song downloads at the iTMS this year were both by Mariah Carey: Don't Forget About US (Radio mix), and All I Want for Christmas Is You.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:38 am

I guess that is why we "exchange" gifts. I gave several iTMS prepaid cards as gifts and received several.

In regards to the Nano scratches. I don't have one, but I checked one out last night. The material does feel very much different than my 2 year old iPod which has a much harder surface than the Nano. I wonder if the harder material would be too brittle for the thinner Nano. I did a web search to try and find out exactly what material is used for the various iPods, but couldn't find any info, does any here know?

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Dec 28, 2005 2:44 pm

"Music sales for the year have already hit 23 million. In 2004, that number was 4.7 million."

...and why do record companie need to raise the price of music? I thought they said there was less sales than last year?

: )

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Dec 28, 2005 2:47 pm

Not sure what the material is. I don't buy a portable without getting a sleeve. It's just good protection for the investment, makes it easier to sell later when Apple releases the next latest and greatest.

: )

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:29 am

I am thinking that my 4th Generation iPod is made of Lexan http://www.gelexan.com/gelexan/ or something similar to it. I can't identify what they use for the Nano, but it sure feels different from my iPod.

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mahuti said:

member since 09 Jan 2003 with 363 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Dec 30, 2005 4:14 pm

Lexan scratches like CRAZY, but it's very tough to break.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Dec 15, 2006 8:10 pm

I just got my IPOD so that I could get Elliott Yamin's single THIS CHRISTMAS ..a cover of Donny Hathaway's classic. It's only available through ITunes..so this is the new wave I guess.

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