Monday, July 22, 2013 - 12:55pm
Nielsen reported last week U.S. music download sales for the first six months of this year are off slightly (2.3%) from what they were at the same point last year. However, streaming music volume is up 24% over the same period, however. (Nielsen's report summary is here.)
Sources like GigaOm say this data indicates a trend, and is exactly why Apple is launching iTunes Radio.
"Attitudes toward music ownership have shifted drastically over the last few years. And (the Nielsen report)... makes it very clear why Apple, which upended the music business a decade ago with its iTunes Music Store, had to start its own streaming music service," wrote GigaOm.
Interestingly, it was GigaOm itself, in an earlier analysis, that suggested Apple's move may be more than just jumping on the streaming bandwagon. We reported in April (here) on GigaOm's suggestion that Apple's iTunes Radio launch isn't necessarily designed to compete with Pandora, but to bolster its music sales business.
Author Janko Roettgers wrote in the earlier GigaOm piece, "The goal is not to kill Pandora, but to actually bring that type of radio service to more users, and keep them from switching to a full-blown access model," like Spotify.
This seems to be what Wall St. Cheat Sheet sees as well. Apple's "market dominance bodes well for the success of iTunes Radio since Apple has created a strong link between its music streaming service and the iTunes Store," it wrote.
Read GigaOm here, and Wall St. Cheat Sheet here.