Lasse Penttinen
18 Aug 2003 12:18
Even though MP3 players have been around for quite some time, the sales figures still haven’t reached their peak. It is safe to say that the market penetration of MP3-able products has been steady but slow. But now it seems that digitally compressed, and possibly digitally distributed or shared, music is an acceptable media and the consumers are realizing its full potential.
Headset CD/MP3 player sales continue to rise in the triple digits, which helps push the audio category as well. In June, unit sales were up 202 percent, compared to the same period in 2002, to total sales of 547,000 units and dollar sales were up 104 percent to a total of $27 million.Music Industry News Network
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"The growth in MP3 has been monumental in 2003, with it clearly being a purchase criteria for consumers seeking on the go audio," said Sean Wargo, director of industry analysis. "The great news is that this trend has only just begun, now that the format is moving into the mainstream with the new profit based online music services."