iPod fans 'shunning iTunes store'
Despite the success of Apple iTunes, few people stock their iPod with tracks from the online store, reports a study. — The Jupiter Research report reveals that, on average, only 20 of the tracks on a iPod will be from the iTunes shop.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had already marked one billion iTunes music downloads in 2006, making the store a visible part of the iPod proposition. Jupiter Research's finding nevertheless points to a sharp distinction between download sales and the music actually loaded onto players.
That gap matters because iTunes Store purchases were not the dominant source of an average iPod library; a store milestone therefore says less about control of listening habits than about transaction volume.
First-order effects
- Apple must treat iPod ownership and iTunes Store purchasing as separate measures: the installed player base is not automatically a captive download audience.
- For iPod owners, music obtained outside the store remains the principal source of device libraries, limiting the store's role in their everyday collection.
Second-order effects
- Record labels and Apple have less leverage to turn iPod distribution into store sales when listeners can populate devices from other music sources.
- Restrictions on some iTunes releases, including copy protection that prevents CD ripping for Bob Dylan's “Modern Times,” risk making store purchases less interchangeable with music consumers already own.
Third-order effects
- The result points toward portable players functioning as open music libraries rather than closed retail endpoints, with hardware reach and digital-store reach developing on different curves.
The trend: Digital-music retailers are learning that a successful playback device does not by itself secure the consumer's music-acquisition relationship.