Sales of MP3 Portable Players Declined in July

According to data complied by OneChannel.net (www.onechannel.net), sales of portable MP3 players remained flat in the last three weeks of July and declined in comparison to the previous months. The Napster controversy and ensuing media spotlight has increased the popularity of downloadable music; however, this enthusiasm has not translated into sales for portable players.

MP3 players are currently most popular amongst students as demonstrated by a spike in their sales in the months of April and May. OneChannel.net speculates that this was due to students stocking up on mobile music for spring break.

The bottom line is that most people still enjoy digital music only at their PC, and MP3 players are far from overtaking the Walkman.

As Ekaterina Walsh, Forrester Research's senior analyst in technographics data and analysis, puts it: "Sales of MP3 players have been so low - only 5% of people between the ages of 16 and 22 online have an MP3 player - that it is unlikely that the Napster decisions will affect MP3 sales much."