Has Amazon (AMZN) made any progress against iTunes?

Posted Apr 23rd 2008 10:00AM by Douglas McIntyre
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Analyst Reports, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN)

One of the things the press and analysts think will come out of Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) earnings is a look at whether its digital music store is gaining any ground on Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes. Not likely.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "With information on the efforts' results hard to come by, analysts are likely to look closely for data on how they're faring when Amazon reports quarterly earnings." While some research shows that the Amazon product has made a bit of headway, over 80% of music downloads in the US come from iTunes.

Amazon's problem is remarkably simple and nearly impossible to solve. No only was Apple in the music download business five years ago, it also has a device to go with the service. By most estimates Apple has sold more than 120 million iPods and that figure goes up by the millions as each new quarter passes.

Apple, essentially, has a matched pair, a device and a software service to supply the content which the iPod uses. Until Amazon has tens of millions of its own MP3 players in the market, it needs to stick to selling books.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Tags: AAPL, AMZN, inthenews, iPod, iTunes

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-23-2008 @ 2:00PM

The Voice of Reason said...

I use both and personally I like Amazon.com - it is cheaper though the selection is not as good. But by this rationale would Blockbuster and Netflix need to sell dvd players to sustain their business? Content is content whether you buy it, rent it, or download it... whatever is readily available, good selection, and cheap will usually do quite well, especially when it is one click away. I think Amazon is definitely going to be a player in this space.

4-23-2008 @ 2:17PM

Beltway Greg said...

Game on. Pappa likes the afternoon action/reaction.
If you can take the heat add some shares. But don't do anything stupid; remember the kids still have to eat tomorrow. Pop to $178.00 in the after-life/market/whatever. Even if it misses you'll get your cash back eventually. BTW, Steve thanks for buying a "boutique" chipmaker. It only adds to the fun.

Beltway Greg.
Just a little longer and stronger.