Being a market leader is tough - being a market leader in the music business is even tougher. Such is the position in which Apple finds itself with the iPod and the iTunes Music Store.
Appleis iPod claims 25% of the market for all digital music players, and a whopping 70% of all legal music downloads. According to an article from UK newspaper Financial Times, however, if Apple doesnit watch its back, the iPod could wind up being just another player, or worse, eclipsed by the next big thing.
The article, Apple in danger of missing out on the fruits of its labour, says that unless Apple finds a way to stay ahead of its competitors, it will succumb to increasing competition. From the article:
Almost three years after the launch of the iPod, there is little indication yet of how Apple plans to stay ahead of its rivals. "Sooner or later someone else will figure out music as well as Apple. Then it will become one among many," says Michael Gartenberg, analyst at Jupiter Media, a research company.
The pressure to innovate is mounting. Appleis core business remains its computers, sales of which have stagnated. In the last 10 years, Appleis market share in PCs has fallen from 9 to 1.8 per cent, according to research group IDC.
Read the full article at the Financial Times Web site.