iTunes Accounts for 28 Percent of U.S. Music Sales, Amazon Catches up to Walmart

According to new numbers from the NPD Group, Apple's iTunes extended its lead over Walmart and now dominates the online music scene with a 70 percent share of the digital music market, while sales accounted for 28 percent of all music purchased during the first quarter of 2010.

Walmart sits it in a distant second place, a position it now shares with Amazon, which was able to gain 4 percentage points to tie Walmart with 12 percent of the market.

"Amazon's growth reflects a stronger position in both the CD and digital formats," Russ Crupnick, vice president of industry analysis for the NPD Group, said in a statement. "This dual-pronged approach of selling both digital music and CDs helps attract the most valuable and committed music buyer who prefers access to both formats."

Walmart held the top spot in physical CD sales with 17 percent of the market, though CD sales in general are declining. Digital music, meanwhile, made up 40 percent of the market in the first quarter of 2010, up significantly from 5 percent during the same quarter one year ago.