Apple working to increase iTunes sales in Japan

Apple is pursuing new ways—including prepaid iTunes cards and free downloads at concerts—to increase sales at the iTunes Music Store in Japan. The company is also targeting consumers who commonly purchase mobile phone downloads. “Apple dominates the market for music downloads in the United States, but its iTunes online music store has about a 5% share in Japan, where most fans download songs onto mobile phones and many people prefer not to buy music online with credit cards,” reports Reuters. In Apple’s favor is the popularity of the iPod. According to BCN, iPods dominate the top nine slots of the latest digital music player sales ranking in Japan.