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July 24, 2008 8:15:16 AM CDT

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Apple Pips Wal-Mart to Become No. 1 Music Store

Posted Apr 4, 08 12:38 PM CDT in Technology,  Business 

(Newser) – Apple has become America's No. 1 music retailer, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company said yesterday that its iTunes store had overtaken Wal-Mart for the first time. Analysts say its ascent to the top spot after just 5 years is a major milestone for the industry and the Internet.

It's the first time a seller of downloads has beaten the big CD retailers; CDs discs still outsell downloads, but maybe not for long, as a wave of digital change sweeps the music industry. "I think it's a sign of things to come, if you believe in evolution," said the boss of CBS Interactive.

Source Los Angeles Times

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A man listens to Apple iTunes from his Apple iPod in downtown San Francisco, Thursday, April 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Apple iTunes Gift Cards on display at Best Buy in Mountain View, Calif., Thursday, April 3, 2008. Apple Inc.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Apple iTunes Gift Cards and Apple TV on display at Costco store in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A shopper walks to her car at the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Brunswick, Maine, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008.   (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
Music and movies are seen on display at a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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Apple  • Wal-Mart  • music downloads  • iTunes  • music sales


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