Amazon music store not really denting iTunes

Seattle (WA) - Around 90% of customers at Amazon’s digital music store had not shopped regularly at iTunes before, according to research firm NPD.

This means that people who are buying from Amazon are largely consumers who are new to the digital music download market. Instead of trying to chip away at iTunes, Amazon is carving out an entirely new place in the music business.

Amazon launched a new digital music store last year, offering DRM-free MP3 downloads exclusively. It has managed to get all four major record labels to come on board. Apple also offers DRM-free tracks, but only from the EMI Music label.

NPD called this "a healthy indication that the digital music customer pool can expand into new consumer groups who have not yet joined the iTunes community," said analyst Russ Crupnick.

The Amazon digital music store has gained some new attention with its partnership with Pepsi. Consumers can collect Pepsi bottlecaps to download free tracks from Amazon. Pepsi previously had a long-running relationship with iTunes.

Amazon currently stands in second place in the digital music market, behind iTunes. However, it is a distant second. Amazon sales currently stand at around one tenth of iTunes.