Oricon is bowing out of the computer-based music download market in Japan, and is citing Apple’s iPod as the reason. According to Reuters, the company has been losing 25 million yen (about US$212,495) a month on its download store for PCs since the service started in March 2005.
Oricon spokesman, Teruaki Hidaka, commented “The iPod has outrun us all. If iPod users could download music from our site, we may have waited to see if the tide turns from mobile phones to online downloads.”
Even though Oricon is giving up on its computer-based music download business, it isn’t leaving the market. The company will continue offering its lucrative phone-based music download service.