iTunes now #2 in US music sales market

In all the excitement of yesterday’s news we almost forgot to report on a huge feat for Apple. According to a new study from the NPD Group, iTunes is the second largest music retailer in the US, right behind Wal-Mart. During the last year, many more people moved to online services to acquire their music, and this is definitely working in Apple’s favor, but there is a catch. Sales to the younger audience are starting to drop slightly so its clear Apple needs to start marketing towards the older folk.

In the past 2 years the amount of legally purchased music has dropped 6%, from 48% in 2006 to just 42% in 2007. This decline is attributed to music piracy in the younger generations and the fact that over 19% of American internet users participated in some form of peer-to-peer sharing, most of which was used for sharing copyright music. The news of lower CD sales is easily attributed to the digital world we are now living in and companies need to learn to adapt better. Apple is currently the best online music retailer out there, but even they have to change their game up in the following years if they want to succeed in the long term.

Via [Business Week]