Asymco, an app production studio and industry analysis advisory firm, has culled data from iTunes and created a graph that compares music downloads versus app downloads. Music downloads have climbed steadily since iTunes made its debut over five years ago and has reached a staggering 12 billion downloads per month. On average, iOS users are currently downloading about 7.5 million songs per day.
In a mere two years since the launch of the app store, app downloads are topping out at over 6 billion per month. Though the overall number of app downloads is half that of music (12 billion vs 6 billion), apps are accelerating at a higher rate, about 17.6 million apps per day. They are rising so fast that Asymco has predicted that app downloads will exceed music downloads by the end of the year.
Though the chart is revealing, it is not surprising. Part of the explosive growth of the app store is due to the number of free or low-cost apps available in the app store. If an app is not free, chances are it is under $5 which makes it exceedingly easy to click the install button. It is easy to go on a downloading spree and install five to ten apps in a matter of minutes, several times a day.
The same is not true for music. Though an album may feature 10 songs, how often have you downloaded more than one song at a time from iTunes? Do you download songs daily? Weekly? or like me yearly? Though I have downloaded hundreds of app, I have only purchased less than a handful of songs.
Apps are also crucial to how you use your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. These mobile devices go far beyond a media player and are, actually, portable computers. As a computing platform, apps help you organize data, perform tasks, play games, watch TV, connect to friends and family, and more. Apps are bountiful, useful, easy to install, in-expensive, and only available via iTunes (not counting Cydia). Music is entertainment and available from many sources outside of iTunes.
So you tell me- which content will be more in demand on iTunes at the end of the year?
[Tech Crunch and Asymco]