Is the writing on the wall for iTunes?
For the first time, U.S. music fans are streaming as much music as they download — and streaming is set to overtake downloading in a matter of months.
NPD Group says 30 percent of U.S. music consumers streamed music in August; the same percentage that downloaded music to their computers.
But streaming is growing fast. In a few months, it will far outstrip downloads, NPD Group spokesman Lee Martin told Evolver.fm.
Incredibly, the new numbers also include downloads from peer-to-peer file sharing networks as well as legal downloads from iTunes and Amazon.
Apparently, the convenience of streaming services, which now offer instant access to vast libraries of music of a wide variety of devices, even beats out piracy!
Good thing Apple has a $1 billion server farm coming online soon (if not already). But when are we going to see streaming from iTunes?
Evolver.fm: Americans Now Stream As Much Music As They Download