On a case by case basis though, the savings can be more substantial. Thus, for a shopper who doesn't want to think about his purchases, always opting for Amazon would, over time, net an average savings of about $1 per album purchased. However, when considering the average price difference of the 160 albums we checked across the stores, Amazon's albums were $1.08 cheaper. For some people, this half-dollar difference is negligible and won't impact where they buy music online.īig backers of public schools in Texas? Rural Republicans. Of course, there's a caveat music from Amazon, as well as Google Play, is cheaper largely because both stores tend to offer albums that are just 50 cents less than iTunes, by default. For shoppers who are primarily interested in Billboard's top albums, then Amazon music downloads are cheaper a whopping 84% of the time. The results of this research show that Amazon offers a better album price than iTunes 77.5% of the time. Each week, we checked the prices of Billboard's top 20 singles and albums, as well as CMJ's top 20 albums (to account for indie offerings). Over the course of four weeks, our staff noted the prices on a variety of singles and albums at iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play. Thus, we set out to see just how much the convenience of downloading music through the iTunes Music Store is costing consumers. Regardless, people are still overwhelmingly buying from iTunes, which rarely - if ever - slashes the price on its digital wares. However, through our daily deal hunting, we have discovered that Amazon more frequently offers discounts on MP3 downloads. iTunes Dominates, But Amazon Is Cheaperįor many people, buying iTunes music is an act of convenience. That accounts for 8 out of 10, or 80%, of digital music shoppers - and that 80% is likely overpaying. According to data from the NPD Group, about 63% of all digital music sales occur through iTunes. However, three vendors in particular - Apple's own iTunes Music Store, Amazon, and Google Play - stand above the rest.īut despite this triumvirate of digital music stores backed by major international brands, only one truly dominates the market. And now, over a decade later, consumers have access to a wide variety of digital music made available by download through a variety of sources. The Apple iPod, introduced in 2001, may be the device most responsible for sparking the digital music era.

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