An estimated four million people used digital music, including MP3 files, in the United States in June 1999. Media Metrix compares this figure with just a few hundred thousand for the same period twelve months ago. The top digital music players in June 1999 were RealNetworks’ RealJukebox and NullSoft Win Amp, boasting 2.2 and 1.8 million users respectively. The growth in usage of digital music has been phenomenal over the last year, said Media Metrix senior vice-president Bruce Ryon. Less than a year ago, there were a number of shareware products with a few thousand users each and only one major player in the market, WinAmp, with 300,000 users. Today, WinAmp has grown to almost two million users. RealJukebox has exceeded even WinAmp in the two months since it was launched, making it: the most successful launch of any new unbundled product we have seen in the three and a half years we have been tracking software usage, Ryon said.
