EDMONTON, AB, Feb. 6, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Phillip Lüpke from Germany is €10,000 richer for purchasing a song from the Apple iTunes Store. It’s not just any song, it’s “Monkey Drums” (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch. But what’s particularly special is that it’s the 25 billionth download from the world’s most popular music download site.
Apple announced the record setting milestone today, singling out Lüpke. He’ll be awarded a €10,000 iTunes card, about C$13,500 in addition to the recognition and bragging rights. The €10K should allow him to multiply his collection and then some.
Twenty-five billion is a lot of songs. To put it into perspective, if every person in the world were to download three to four songs from the iTunes store, that would be roughly the same number of songs that have been actually downloaded to date.
Fans continue to download songs from iTunes at a record pace. After its inaugural launch in April 2003, it took until February 2006 to reach one billion. About four years later, on February 24, 2010 – Steve Jobs’ 55thbirthday – that number hit 10 billion. It only took just over two and a half years for that number to double yet again.
There seems to be no end in sight to the growth.
“(We’re) averaging over 15,000 songs downloaded per minute,” according to Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.
The ability to purchase from the iTunes store is more than just a convenience to music purchasers.
“In a lot of ways, iTunes has leveled the playing field for musicians. Whether you’re unsigned, indie, major, whatever – it’s the place most people go to buy digital music,” said Wesley Schultz, guitarist and lead vocalist of The Lumineers. “iTunes doesn’t exclude any musicians simply because they’re not yet established or popular.”
Greg Gazin is a Tech Columnist, Small Business and Technology Speaker and Senior Editor at Troy Media. He can be reached at Gadgetguy.CA on Twitter @gadgetgreg or you can find him on Empire Avenue at(e)GADGET1.
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