December 15, 2003: Virtually eight months after launching the iTunes Music Retailer, Apple celebrates its 25 millionth obtain.
The track in query? Appropriately sufficient for this time of yr, a Frank Sinatra cowl* of the Christmas traditional “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
This submit comprises affiliate hyperlinks. Cult of Mac could earn a fee if you use our hyperlinks to purchase objects.
iTunes: Essentially the most profitable on-line music retailer
“With over 25 million songs bought and downloaded so far, the iTunes Music Retailer is hands-down the most profitable on-line music retailer,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs mentioned in a press release on the time. “Music followers are shopping for and downloading nearly 1.5 million songs per week from the iTunes Music Retailer, which is a price of 75 million songs per yr.”
Jobs’ forecasts proved extremely correct. By the next July, Apple bought its 100 millionth track, Zero 7’s “Somersault (Dangermouse remix),” bought by Kevin Britten from Hays, Kansas.
At present, iTunes has bought north of 40 billion songs, though downloads have been eclipsed by streaming providers like Apple Music and Spotify.
iTunes Music Retailer in 2003
The iTunes Music Retailer circa 2003 provided what appears at this time a relatively paltry music catalog “of greater than 400,000 songs,” priced at 99 cents every. These got here from all 5 main music firms and greater than 200 unbiased labels.
Apple additionally celebrated promoting greater than $1 million value of iTunes on-line reward certificates and top-up allowances since introducing them a few months earlier in October.
What was your first iTunes track obtain? Depart your feedback under.
* On the threat of being persnickety, Apple’s press launch claims that the “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” obtain was a model by Frank Sinatra. Whereas Sinatra did document a Could 1950 model of the track, which appeared on the 2002 Christmas With the Rat Pack album, the much more well-known model was sung by Sinatra good friend and stablemate Dean Martin. Unsure if Apple made a mistake right here!
