News - 28/10/2014

Apple securities filing confirms iTunes downloads decline

Apple securities filing confirms iTunes downloads decline


Apple confirmed the decline in digital music downloads from iTunes in a securities filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing - reported by Venturebeat - shows that the company’s App business is growing in spite of the decline in digital music sales.

Just two days ago the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple’s iTunes store may see a 13 to 14% decline in iTunes sales for 2014, although the figure has since been disputed by the fact that the downloads-heavy Q4 - driven in part by gift cards being used up - is yet to begin.

The decline in download sales may not hurt Apple’s bottom line but the company has long been identified as a strong player in the music space, and that association has contributed to establishing the image of a cool, consumer-friendly brand.

Now the world awaits the transformation of Beats Music into a service that can be presented to iTunes consumers in a way that will tempt them to jump on board without seeing their existing MP3 collection being marginalised. A failure to successfully implement this plan would not impact Apple’s bottom line significantly, but it would be read as the decline of the company’s ‘cultural’ dominance - at least as far as music is concerned - and its all-important brand perception could lose some of its shine in the process.


(Andrea Leonelli)

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