Apple Reaches One Billion Song Milestone

The billionth song ”Speed of Sound” was purchased as part of Coldplay’s “X&Y” album by Alex Ostrovsky from West Bloomfield, Michigan and as the grand prize winner he will receive a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth generation iPods and a $10,000 gift card good for any item on the iTunes Music Store. In addition, Apple will establish a scholarship to the world-renowned Juilliard School in his name to commemorate this milestone.

“I hope that every customer, artist and music company executive takes a moment today to reflect on what we’ve achieved together during the past three years,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Over one billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet.”

The best digital jukebox and the #1 music download store, iTunes is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase, and download music. Visit the iTunes Music Store 24/7, purchase individual songs or entire albums, search and browse for new music, enjoy groundbreaking personal use rights, then sync everything to your iPod seamlessly.

With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated video and Podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod® and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store now features a selection of over 3,500 music videos, Pixar and Disney short films, a variety of hit TV shows, 35,000 podcasts, 16,000 audiobooks and more than two million songs from the major music companies and independent record labels.

The iTunes Music Store is also the world’s most popular video download store with more than 15 million videos purchased and downloaded. iTunes offers over 60 popular TV shows for just $1.99 for viewing on a computer or iPod and recently added new hit programming from ABC, Bravo, NBC, MTV Networks and SHOWTIME.

You can read more about this milestone or help Apple on their next quest to reach 2 billion downloads here.