I'll post a link to this today since tomorrow's posts are going to be dedicated to only physical formats. (So much talk about digital and mobile, yet CDs are still king and vinyl is making a sort of comeback. Yes, tomorrow will be Physical Friday.)

An NPD memo reportedly has iTunes overtaking Wal-Mart as the top music seller in the U.S. NPD has been tracking a "sharp increase" in downloads over the past several months. (Oh, you mean that "sharp" 28.7% year-over-year increase in single track sales, which pales compared to 51.9% at this point last year?)

What a perfect storm: iTunes overtakes Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart is pressing for improved wholesale prices. The transition to digital is natural, expected and inevitable, but labels need to protect their cash cows during the transition. My advice is to play ball with Wal-Mart. Any lost shelf space, any reduction in inventories, will take away potential sales to those tens of millions of Wal-Mart shoppers who still prefer to buy CDs.