U.S. teenagers show no big interest in CDs as nearly half of them did not buy a single CD in 2007, according to a report released from tracking firm NPD Group Tuesday.

Last year, 48 percent of the teenagers said they did not buy CDs, compared with 38 percent in 2006. And illegally downloading music continued to grow among teenagers, said the report.

The average Internet user acquired 6 percent more music last year via legal downloads, CDs and illegal file-sharing in the United States, the report said. But they spent 10 percent less on music -- 40 U.S. dollars per user, compared with 44 dollars a year before.

Based on 2007 sales, the amount of music legally bought from online music stores was up -- 29 million people bought music online in the United States last year. Now legal music downloads account for 10 percent of music acquired in the country.

One big beneficiary is Apple Inc. Its iTunes digital media store edged out Best Buy Co and Target Corp to become the second-largest U.S. music retailer, behind Wal-Mart Stores.

The iTunes store now has more than 50 million customers and has sold more than 4 billion songs, Apple said in a separate statement.

The report also underlined a generational split. The increase in legal online sales was driven by people age 36 to 50, the report said.

(Xinhua/Agencies February 27, 2008)