Apple today announced that more than three billion songs have been purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store. iTunes is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store featuring a catalog of over five million songs, 550 television shows and 500 movies. iTunes recently surpassed Amazon and Target to become the third largest music retailer in the US (source: NPD Group).
“We’d like to thank all of our customers who have contributed to this incredible milestone,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, in the press release.
With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as Cover Flow, integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, and theability to turn previously purchased songs into completed albums at reduced prices, the iTunes Store is the best way for PC and Mac users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.
Visit Apple’s iTunes Store here.
MacDailyNews Note: Exponential!
The Apple iTunes Store Milestones:
• July 31, 2007: 3 billion songs sold
• April 9, 2007: 2.5 billion songs sold
• January 9, 2007: 2 billion songs sold
• December 6, 2006: Available in New Zealand
• February 23, 2006: 1 billion songs sold
• October 25, 2005: Available in Australia
• August 4, 2005: Available in Japan
• July 17, 2005: 500 million songs sold
• May 10, 2005: 400 million songs sold; available in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland
• January 24, 2005: 250 million songs sold
• December 16, 2004: 200 million songs sold
• December 2, 2004: Available in Canada
• October 26, 2004: Available in the Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain
• October 14, 2004: 150 million songs sold
• July 12, 2004: 100 million songs sold
• June 15, 2004: Available in UK, France, and Germany
• April 28, 2004: 70 million songs sold
• March 15, 2004: 50 million songs sold
• December 15, 2003: 25 million songs sold
• October 16, 2003: Available for Windows; 13 million songs sold
• September 8, 2003: 10 million songs sold
• June 23, 2003: 5 million songs sold
• May 14, 2003: 2 million songs sold
• May 5, 2003: One million songs sold
• April 28, 2003: iTunes Store launched in United States
Now just imagine if Apple donated 10 cents per dollar to feed the hungry, or shelter the homeless.
Imagine if Exxon Mobile did the same, and donated and additional 5 cents per dollar of gasoline to fund renewable energy research.
Apple and Exxon still make out like bandits. And the world becomes that much happier. So simple.
I could not recall the exact date when the iPod came out. However, I do believe it came out in October 2001. With that in mind, 3,000,000,000 songs in a little less than six years is pretty amazing. That equates to a little over half-a-billion songs a year.
That’s a lot of money in the long run. While I’m no prognosticator, I do believe that AAPL is due for a stock split.
I work with the homeless at times. It’s not a lack of money, or opportunity that generally keeps most in the streets. It’s mental illness and substance abuse.
Apple should continue to grow and make as much money as it can. It should use its money as it sees fit. Hopefully, it will continue to push personal tech into the future.
Not all good work ends in a soup kitchen.
AJ, the iTunes Store didn’t open for a couple of years after the iPod debuted. It coincided with the Windows version of iTunes in 2003.
AO
Corporations do not donate any money to charities, anymore than they pay taxes. Their customers pay these through higher prices.
Want to tax gas more? Prepare to shell out more at the pump.
Want Apple to give 10% to charity? Sure thing. Songs will now cost $1.09.
It’s a nice thought, but charity begins at home.
MW:social
I wonder when they will get to be like McDonalds, and just stop counting.
@AO
I think Apple probably makes just 10 cents for each song it sells. Your message may be better directed at the record companies, who it appears make the bulk of the profits from iTunes sales.
So far in 2007, Apple is selling a little less than 5M songs per day!
And yet, the number of selections for movies and TV shows is still pathetic. These catalogs desperately need expanding. What’s stopping them? Is Wal-Mart still holding the MPAA and the distributors’ hostage?
Roughly 34 months for the first billion. Roughly 10-11 months for the second billion. Right at 6 months for the third billion. That’s a positive trend in terms of sales rate.
AO,
You said, “Now just imagine if Apple donated 10 cents per dollar to feed the hungry, or shelter the homeless.
Imagine if Exxon Mobile did the same, and donated and additional 5 cents per dollar of gasoline to fund renewable energy research.
Apple and Exxon still make out like bandits. And the world becomes that much happier. So simple.”
I say, “Shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” If you want to play altruist, give away your own f***ing money and property.
And the 3th billionth song sold is :
Sol by mottasi
Lucky bastard
1 billion after almost 2 years that the iTunes store was opened for business, the next billion in 10 1/2 months and the last billion in 6 1/2 monts. Would you call that an exponential progression? For when the No. 1 spot at that speed?
Jeff,
That was going to be my point.
But seeing as you’ve stolen the headline, how about this for a factoid?
Assuming that the digital world emulates the tangible world, UMG have a 35% share of iTS music downloads, or about 1.725 million tracks/day.
If you assume that they take about 80¢ per track, that’s about $1.38 million every day or around $500 million over the course of the year.
It’s worth remembering that there are no manufacturing or distribution costs to be absorbed, so pretty much all of that $500 million is profit other than the pittance of a royalty rate they pay the artist, and the marketing costs – which they try to recover from the artists wherever possible.
So, $500 million a year and they still want to make another $50 million charging Apple a dollar per iPod.
Here’s a question: are they charging any of the manufacturers of media capable phones (Samsung, Sony-Ericsson, Nokia, whoever) a dollar a phone?
What’s that? No. Surely not.
AO,
Instead of paying higher prices to Apple and letting them decide how to donate the surplus, why don’t you keep the $.10 and donate it yourself? Then you get to decide which causes are the most deserving, and you can make a real difference in the causes you choose.
$.10 per dollar might be more than many people can afford to give, but every bit counts. If you can’t afford $.10 per dollar, maybe you could put aside a nickel for each dollar you spend, and give that to the most deserving charities you can find.
Thanks again for your desire to make a difference in the world, and good luck.
This doesn’t even include China or India… yet. (about 2 billion people)
@Connor MacBook:
Thanks for the info. With that in mind, my calculations are off by a factor of four–we are looking at 2,000,000,000 songs per year, give or take a few, in the last three years. Following that same line of thought, Apple could potentially surpass the illegal downloads by 2013.
The only concern I have is the the music industry is not going to like this–only because they can’t get all the money they want. Looking at the industry’s track record (no pun), they will whine at every opportunity to get our money…
Apple and oil companies make out like bandits? lol!
that is an odd comparison. it would work if only Apple made 80% profit on the songs, didn’t take care of the infrastructure, and charged 10$ a song, all while ignoring safety rules….
back on the real topic…. i too wonder what the numbers would be like if the catalog was more like amazon than a local mom and pop bookstore…..
they only make 11 cents off each track, how can they donate any proceeds to anywhere? They sell 3 billion songs, which mean they only made 3.3 million dollars.
AO-
so simple…
much like weak mind.
Does anyone know what language that song is ?
It sure is not spanish.
for this industry… 3.3 million dollars in the amount of time iTunes has been around is actually crap. it’s def the record companies that are making the money here… why do you think physical music retialers don’t want to start exploring digital downloads in-store? because it costs X amount of money for a kiosk to do it, some customer comes in and spends 1/2 hour deciding what they want, and they purchase 1 song, or even 2… what’s a retailer going to do with a $0.22 profit? not much. Retailers are finsing it hard enough to make profits off physical stock as it is.
@AO – so simple is right. Dang, why has nobody ever thought of that before? Just give more money.
Kiddo, there is more aid money than you think. Here’s a hint – when money was gold, you still couldn’t eat it. Now that money is an electronic figment, it is even less nutritious. Airlift charity makes us all feel good and such – but the hunger and poverty spread round the world does not persist because these folks have their faces pressed against the windows of a local Wal-Mart, unable to shop for lack of funds.
Societies become materially wealthy by creating wealth. Trying to relieve all but the most terrible circumstances with the US economic engine is like running an air conditioner out the window, trying to combat global warming. If you don’t understand why that’s a problem, BTW, stop reading this and go educate yourself.
The majority of those we see as impoverished are simply reminders of the human condition as it has persisted throughout the millennia. We live as we do because our society possesses certain habits and tendencies that have created a virtuous circle of continuous improvement of living circumstances. Many other societies are attempting to hack themselves into a similar (or better) circle. There are limitations and pitfalls, and it takes serious time (though probably, with the head starts they have, not as long as it took the West). Be patient. Help. Contribute.
But remember that a significant proportion of the money you pour into the EXTREMELY lossy global relief efforts is going to those who least need it. I live in Geneva, and know folks at UN and WHO and Global Fund and ….
There are many who do good as far as they are able. Most of those who reach the top are not often part of this category. Look up the Global Fund leadership fiasco (go Project RED!) – I get the information on that from someone who deals with it firsthand. Dang.
AO is a great example of people who don’t really have any clue. Money spent on “homeless” is money flushed down a toilet. R made a great point that most bums (more accurate name for homeless people) are bums for a reason. When a person wastes their life, destroys their brain with drugs, willfully makes themselves a burden on society…. your answer is to give them money? OK, give them all your money, and feel good about. but when you ask others, (including Apple and Exxon) to throw their dollars down the “homeless” sewer, you invite ridicule on yourself.
For a bit of history, read about how Buy.com was going to take over online music sales and sell 1 million songs per day…
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2137986,00.htm