28% of Americans aged 12 and up own a digital music player, up from 12% a year ago, and sales are growing fastest among women, Gen Xers and the youngest of the Baby Boomer generation, says a new study by Digital Life America and Canada-based Fast ForwardTM.
Ownership of digital music players has tripled among women, rising to 27% of women web users from 8% last year, as ownership among men grew to 28% from 18%, the study said.
Among all online consumers aged from 30 to 49, which includes GenXers and the youngest members of the Baby Boomer generation, ownership of digital music players is now at 33%, up from 12% last year, the study said.
The number of U.S. consumers who have paid for a downloaded song has also increased significantly—to 39 million or 23% of all Internet users this year, up from 8% last year, the study said.
Apple Computer Inc., recognized as having started the digital music market with its iTunes service and iPod players, continues to dominate the market for players with a market share of 68%, up from 53% last year, the study said. Creative Labs ranked a distant second with a market share of 6%, followed by RCA, Samsung and Sony, each with a share of 2-3%.
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