iPod dominates teenage mindshare, market share
October 6, 2004 - 13:16 PDT   by Larry Angell - Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said today that based on a survey of 600 teenagers, Apple's iPod is dominating "mindshare and market share." Munster said in a research note provided to MacMinute that of all the high school students surveyed, 16 percent currently own an iPod and 24 percent plan to buy an iPod within the next year. Munster also noted that the iPod ranked fourth on the teens' holiday wish list--behind clothes, money, and a car--even though the iPod was not an answer option and had to be written in as a response.

Looking at portable digital music players overall, Munster said 32 percent of the students are looking to purchase a player within the next year, and of those 32 percent, 75 percent expect that they will buy an iPod as compared to a rival player from Rio, Sony, and others.

Munster found that illegal file sharing is still very popular among teenagers, but said that he sees long-term opportunity for legitimate online music stores such as Apple's iTunes. The analyst said that of the 600 teens, 65 percent indicated they download music on a regular basis. Of this 65 percent, 73 percent use an illegal file sharing solution such as Kazaa. "We believe many of these students will seek legitimate alternatives to illegal file sharing as they get older," Munster said. "Also, we expect file sharing to become increasingly difficult as the RIAA and record labels use technology and the law to stem the bleeding."

Piper Jaffray's eighth national "Taking Stock With Teens" tour involved visiting nine high schools in eight states, surveying approximately 600 students with an average age of 16.5 years.

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