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Amazon MP3 couldn't beat iTunes

The music download service made no dent in Apple's dominance but still managed to win nearly 10% of the market.

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Computing | by Samuel Axon | Mon Dec 15, 2008 6:07PM | 0 comments

Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, but it couldn't make a dent in iTunes, Apple's music download service. Amazon launched Amazon MP3 as a competitor to iTunes, but one year later it has only captured between five and 10 percent of the market, without taking any at all from iTunes' 70%. Amazon was banking on the assumption that you don't want your music to be restricted to devices it approves of (as opposed to Apple, whose music downloads often only work on Apple players), so it sold music in the MP3 format, which will play on just about anything. But it looks like Amazon only succeeded in taking market share from the other small guys; Apple's grip remains unloosened. Still, we're only one year in, and if history's taught us anything it's that no empire lasts forever. The immediate and foreseeable future looks bright for iTunes after the immense success of the iPhone, though.

This story around the web:

Trusted sources:
external link Amazon MP3 (AMZN) Not Killing iTunes Yet… [Alley Insider]
external link Amazon MP3 fails to budge iTunes US share [Electronista]
external link Amazon’s MP3 Store, One Year In. No… [All Things Digital]

Get more information on topics relating to this story:


Related company news:
Apple, Amazon
Related glossary terms:
MP3
Related devices and services:
Apple iPhone, Apple iPhone 3G, Apple iTunes, Amazon MP3

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