I actually prefer to buy CDs and load them into my iPod instead of buying them on the iTunes Music Store. I may not be the only one who’s doing that.
Here’s an interesting story from The New York Times that takes a look at the numbers of iPods sold vs. the number of songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store:
At any given point, the cumulative number of songs sold by the iTunes store has generally been about 20 times the cumulative number of iPods sold, according to Forrester Research, the technology consulting firm. That ratio has recently crept up to roughly 22 to 1, as 1.5 billion songs have been sold. The figures were compiled from public statements by Apple.
“IPods are not sitting around generating dozens and dozens of transactions every quarter,” said Josh Bernoff, a principal analyst for Forrester Research. “People buy a certain number of songs, and then they stop.”
Of course, that doesn’t account for other online music services and all the swapping of mp3’s going on illicitly.
So what about you? Do you buy your music from iTunes? How do you use your iPod?
Sure, I rip all my CDs to iTunes, but I also buy from the iTunes store. It’s great for getting individual tracks I like and buying albums I don’t care to own on CD.
Just last night I spent almost $30 on miscellaneous heavy metal tracks to fill in some gaps in my collection.
Buy songs. Are you f*ckin kidding me?
Acquisition, baby!
If there’s an entire album I want right away, I’ll download it from iTunes. And it’s perfect for buying single songs (like in the old days of 45s or CD singles). But it’s the tactile sensation of holding a CD in your hands and flipping through the booklet that iTunes can never replace.
Of course I think the same thing was said about LP album art vs. the CD booklet.
How do I use my ipod? For receiving gifted and stolen content, that’s how.
Yeah, I said it.
The $.99 download is the greatest thing that ever happened to music. It’s too high for consumers, but it’s not enough to keep the record labels in business. We’re rapidly moving toward a model in which artists will run the show, buying recording and marketing services ala carte and generating revenue through live performances and indie licensing schemes like Creative Commons.
The revolution will be downloaded for free.
Within the last 6 mo, all three of my kids have gotten their second or third iPod (only the one that got caught in the flood is out of service), a fact ignored by these calculations. but even if the purchase rate were double per iPod OWNER (v. per iPod), it wouldn’t be a stellar showing number-wise. We tend to buy singles on iTMS; if we want the whole album, we prefer to order the CD on-line. Still, iTMS is a godsend, especially for my kids, serious music students all, who frequently need right-now downloads of classical recordings for their classes. While we may not be typical, as musicians, we are pleased to have a LEGAL way to easily get the recordings we need, and try very hard to work with the system–some of our friends are trying to make it in music and are using iTMS as another vehicle to that success.
90% of the stuff I put on my iPod is from CD’s I own, the rest I bought from allofmp3…
I have purchased nearly 900 cuts from iTunes so I suppose I’ve made up for 38 other iPod owners who have not purchased anything. These are dubious statistics as anyone with a modicum of statistical understanding knows. Nonetheless, it’s amazing how Wall Street seems to pick up on this drivel as Apple’s stock price apparently suffered from this crap yesterday.
I don’t even own a pod–my laptop is my music player–yet I can’t stop myself from pushing the iTunes “Buy Album” button.
The fact that I can find almost anything and have it NOW is powerful stuff for a music fan.
I miss the packaging/liner notes sometimes, but I don’t miss paying for it. Ten bux beats fifteen everytime.