Apple's iTunes Sales Hit Half-Billion Mark
In April 2003 Apple opened its online iTunes Music Store. Despite the
fact that downloads can only be played on iPods, more than 500 million
tunes were sold the first two years. This, of course, is largely due to the
incredible popularity of iPods.
As of October 2005, more than 2 million songs, 2,000 music videos and 11,000
audiobooks were available from Apple's online music store.
Video Joins the List
The introduction of Apple's newest video iPod opens the door for even more
iTunes sales. Besides music videos, hit TV shows are available
for download the day after they air. And we're certain to see an even greater
variety in the near future.
In their first four years Apple sold more than 15 million iPods. Sales from 2004 to 2005 increased more than 600% and the recent
unveiling of the video iPod and super slim iPod Nano looks to keep the trend going.
Not Everyone's Happy
Critics maintain Apple is making a bad situation worse in that artists
receive only a few cents of each purchase. Major record labels have been charged
with this inequity for years and insiders feel iTunes only exacerbates the
problem. This may be true, but online music sales are more than
making up for the ongoing decline in CD sales.
Lossy vs. Lossless
Another complaint is the quality of Apple's music downloads. Tracks are
downloaded in AAC compression format which is lossy, meaning selected "inaudible" sounds
are discarded during file compression. Many critics feel this results in unacceptable quality - certainly no where near CD quality. But other formats
like MP3 and WMA are also lossy, and lossless files simply consume too much
memory for practical use on portable mp3 players.
An Exclusive Club
Perhaps an equally important issue is that AAC format only works on iPods, so
applications of iTunes songs are severely limited. If you're
a card carrying member of the "i-generation" that isn't a problem. But if
you want to use the music files you buy on other devices, you're pretty much out
of luck.
Nevertheless, at 99¢ per track and $8-$12 an album it's
not a bad deal for the consumer. Those of us old enough to remember the early
days of rock/pop music know this is not much more than the prices of 50 years ago.
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