From AppleInsider:

Apple briefly sat atop the list of US music retailers in January before surrendering that position back to Wal-Mart the following month, a new report reveals.

Citing a congratulatory email containing NPD market research data that was circulated amongst some Apple employees, ArsTechnica reports that the iTunes operator garnered a 19 percent share of all US-based retail music sales one week in January, good enough to temporarily push it past industry leader Wal-Mart, which captured a 15 percent share for the same period.

The sudden surge to the top was likely fueled by iTunes holiday gift card redemptions, because a few weeks later Apple would relinquish that lead back to Wal-Mart.

Still, landing firmly in the No. 2 position was a crowning achievement for the Cupertino-based company, as was duly noted in a February press release. That’s because prior to gift card run-up it had only managed to muster up enough sales to rank No. 3 behind both Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

What’s of particular interest from Ars’s report, however, is that it includes an NPD chart of the top 10 music retailers from that one week in January with their associated share of the market. NPD declined to release those specific share percentages back in February when Apple definitively claimed the No. 2 spot.

Not only does the chart reveal Amazon to be a distant fourth in the rankings behind Apple, Wal-mart, and Best Buy with its 6 percent share, it more importantly shows the approximate level of separation between the top three players.

written by Jose Castillo

iTunes users who also happen to be fans of a goblin David Bowie, Gelflings, Skeksis, Mystics and/or Jim Henson have reason to celebrate: two of Henson’s cult classic films are now available on iTunes. The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth are now available for purchase at the iTunes Store. This comes on the heels of the Farscape and Fraggle Rock iTunes releases in January.

Thanks to Gizmodo Read More

written by Jose Castillo

Another press event, another 3G iPhone no-show. Man, just think how nice it would be to have a brand spankin’ new HSDPA capable iPhone for downloading all those fancy new apps. Sure would come in handy for syncing your massive corporate email accounts (with attachments), too. Otherwise, you iPhone users will be stuck with your paltry EDGE when WiFi isn’t available. Will that all change in June with the launch of the 2.0 firmware? That’s what the rumor mill says — and it makes sense to us. What say you?

written by Jose Castillo

Walt Disney Records has been quietly re-releasing long unavailable material from its vast archives on iTunes over the past year or so, and happily, a number of new selections have hit the iTunes store today. The titles are:

• Westward Ho the Wagons
• Italiannette
• Annette Sings Anka
• Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House

And quite significantly, the original soundtrack from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

According to Walt Disney Records producer Randy Thornton–

“This is HOPEFULLY the beginning of a new line (only time will tell). Also, when you purchase this title, you can download a Digital Booklet with behind-the-scenes photos, and illustrations. I’ve written a brief “Producer’s Note” outlining the background of the project, and there is (the highlight for me) liner notes from my new friend, composer John Debney . . . It’s taken me over 10 years to get this released, and it was definitely worth the wait! Thanks very much for all your patience, enthusiasm and support for this great, classic stuff.”

Thornton continues to be one of the true unsung heroes of Disney-related historical preservation. He has been tireless in his efforts to find and restore these vintage recordings and insure their availability to what is undeniably a very small audience of enthusiasts. Thornton is well known to Disney music fans as the person who produces the Official Disneyland and Walt Disney World music collections; he was notably responsible for the amazing and near-definitive Musical History of Disneyland collection, released during the park’s recent 50th Anniversary celebration.

In addition, five albums that were previously available at the Disneyland/Walt Disney World Wonderland music-on-demand kiosks have been added to the archive releases available on iTunes. Those titles are:

• Meet Me Down On Main Street
• A Musical Tour of France with Maurice Chevalier
• Songs from Lady and the Tramp
• The Disney Afternoon
• Country Bear Jamboree

One special note about today’s releases–a number of readers have contacted me recently concerning the song “The Ballad of John Colter.” Fess Parker performed the song in Westward Ho the Wagons and it is available on the collection released today. It is also included on the archive release Fess Parker - Cowboy and Indian Songs, also available on iTunes.

[Via 2719 HYPERION]

written by Luke Manning

From iRiver and the house The Mouse built comes this limited edition M-Player. Gold plating and a Philips PNX0103ET audio processor create what iriver calls an “assassin’s mace” of a device. Sure, Cute. Simple. Friendly. Now add Opulent to the tagline too — at ?888 Chinese Yuan (about $123) you’ll be looking at a 100% or so markup over their standard 1GB Mplayer.

[Via Engadget]

written by Luke Manning