How Many Millions Did Amazon Lose on Two Days of 99-Cent Lady Gaga Sales?

Glenn Peoples, reporting for Billboard:

Industry sources told Billboard.biz on Friday that Amazon sold some 440,000 downloads of the album - nearly all of which were the 99-cent version (a more expensive deluxe version is also available).

So how much is Amazon losing? About $3.2 million over the two days the promotion ran, according to Billboard’s estimate. […]

But is a loss really a loss? The important aspect of this 99-cent promotion is the value of the increased traffic and awareness.

Indeed, I think it’s hard to imagine that Amazon could have drawn as much attention to their music store by spending $3 million in any other way.

★ Saturday, 28 May 2011