iTunes second to Napster in digital music brands
updated 09:05 am EST, Tue December 7, 2004
iTunes second to Napster
Marketing research firm today announced that Apple's iTunes and Napster 2.0 are the two most recognized in the digital music industry. The report said that despite the ongoing influx of new and refined online music offerings, both iTunes and Napster 2.0 continue to "capture the American fee-based digital music mind space." However, iTunes was second to the Napster brand. New findings from TEMPO, the company's quarterly study of digital music behaviors, reveal that in summer 2004, American downloaders aged 12 and older were equally as likely to be aware of Napster 2.0 and Apple's iTunes on a top-of-mind basis (20% each). However, when prompted with brand names, more than four out of five (79%) downloaders recognize the Napster 2.0 brand, while nearly half (46%) are aware of iTunes.
"Over the course of the past year, we've witnessed the high profile
introductions of numerous legitimate online music services. These data
indicate that while consumers may be cognizant of many of these services,
iTunes and Napster 2.0 have emerged as top-of-mind brand leaders. It's
particularly interesting to note that Apple's iTunes Music Store, although
introduced only 18 months ago, demonstrates consumer top-of-mind awareness
equal to that of the Napster brand, which was established in the late '90s.
What this suggests is that brand maturity is not a prime indicator of category
ownership in the still youthful digital music market," said Matt Kleinschmit,
Vice President for Ipsos-Insight, and author of the TEMPO research.
The report also noted that several other brands were popular, including RealPlayer Music Store (41%), MusicMatch (36%), RealOne RadioPass (31%), MTV.com (31%) and Walmart.com (30%).
In addition to specific digital music service brand affinities, the study also found that those who have downloaded music are most likely to place importance on good sound quality, low prices, a broad music selection, and perceptions of a good value as specific traits of a digital music service. In contrast, the survey found that less importance was placed on perceptions
of a hip or cool site or the ability to exchange ideas or recommendations with
other service users.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2000
Way to go, Napster!
Of course, Napster achieved its notoriety (or infamy) as a source for illegal, free downloads, and while today's Napster may be a source of legal, for-money downloads, I believe the name recognition is largely due to its original incarnation. Despite coming second, iTunes is still the most commercially successful digital music service.