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iTunes Sells 500 Millionth Song

Posted by Zonk on from the grats! dept.

TJPile writes "Apple's iTunes Music Store can now say half a billion served. One look at Apple's front page says it all. Sunday, at 2:44PM EST, Amy Greer of Lafayette, Indiana bought Faith Hill's Mississippi Girl to win."

180 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. Now if only.... by aussie_a · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Now if only there was a store as popular as Apple's Itunes that didn't sell DRM-encrusted music files.

    1. Re:Now if only.... by Atticu5 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In all likelyhood, Apple would not be able to sell you music that did not have some form of DRM. We should be thankful that at the very least, the Apple DRM is unobtrusive and allows users some flexibility with their music.

    2. Re:Now if only.... by nuggetman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Right, because the record labels would ever go for that. You're funny.

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    3. Re:Now if only.... by TorKlingberg · · Score: 1

      I never understand why. They don't seem too have too much against selling non-DRM CDs.

    4. Re:Now if only.... by DMNT · · Score: 1

      I think there is one in Russia, but I don't know the URL. It got some free advertising in the papers because apparently they aren't paying to the music producers and they might be controlled by mafia. Anyway, you can download music there in MP3 format in quality you want. You pay by transfer size, so more money means better quality. All the new hits and stuff.

      --
      ?SYNTAX ERROR
    5. Re:Now if only.... by ioErr · · Score: 1

      They don't? Did you miss all their attempts to create copy-protected "CD"s?

    6. Re:Now if only.... by Skye16 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The fuck they do. I got blindsided by their DRM last week after a reformat of my computer - apparently you can only do that twice and still access the same music - each time it assumes its a new computer (I KNOW I haven't upgraded 5 times since I bought those 3 CDs). Now I'm fucked.

      Can I blame Apple? Not really. Just because I didn't read the TOS/EULA/Whatever doesn't mean they're at fault. All the same, though, knowing that I only have 5 format/reinstalls before my music becomes untouchable isn't good enough. Not for me or my money. They can keep their "cheap music". I'd rather buy it at full price and do what the fuck I want with it, thanks.

    7. Re:Now if only.... by nuggetman · · Score: 5, Informative

      >All the same, though, knowing that I only have 5 format/reinstalls before my music becomes untouchable isn't good enough.
      From the Apple website:

      To deauthorize all computers associated with your account:

      Click Music Store in the Source list.
      If you're not signed in to the store, click the Account button, then enter your account name and password.
      Click the Account button again (your ID appears on the button), enter your password, and then click View Account.
      In the Account Information window, click Deauthorize All.

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    8. Re:Now if only.... by aaqubed · · Score: 3, Informative

      There are ways of getting around the DRM. For one, you can just use a converter. I just converted about 50 or so of my protected files into MP3's that can be played on any ordinary MP3 player, using JHymn.

      --
      Need help - license plate reverse lookup. NY plate CSE-2960. Guy almost hit me, blamed me, pissed me off.
    9. Re:Now if only.... by TheGuruMan · · Score: 1

      Maybe not "as popular as Apple's iTunes", but have you ever tried emusic.com?

      --
      Living in Perth, Australia? Come to our Slashdot Meetup
    10. Re:Now if only.... by nuggetman · · Score: 1

      The non-DRMed CDs were created in the 80s. By time digital piracy rolled around in the mid 90s it was far too late to easily change the CD standard.

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    11. Re:Now if only.... by 1u3hr · · Score: 1

      Try Allofmp3.com. (See The Register's story.)

    12. Re:Now if only.... by TylerL82 · · Score: 4, Informative

      What he mentioned deauthorizes ALL computers EVER authorized by iTMS with your account - whether the computers still exist or not.

      You can use it once a year.

      Since it seems like you only use one computer with your iTunes account, that'll take you back to 5 "reformats"...or just remember to deauthorize before you reformat next time to avoid all this in the future.

    13. Re:Now if only.... by robbieduncan · · Score: 1

      If you ask iTMS support they can de-authorise all the computers from your Account.

    14. Re:Now if only.... by Skye16 · · Score: 1

      In my rage, I said "you can only [format] twice and still access the same music" - I meant to say "five times". Later I mentioned the number five, which was probably just confusing. The number is five. Total. Five reformats. Which is about 6 months for me.

    15. Re:Now if only.... by RandyWalker · · Score: 1

      In iTunes Music Store, go to your Account page and it will tell you how many computers you have authorized and provide you with a link to remove all the current authorizations. Alternately, you can email iTunes technical support and they can de-authorize them all. Then, just play one of your iTMS songs and it will prompt you for authorization. Enter your information and you're all set!

      --
      ~Randy
    16. Re:Now if only.... by Nefarious420 · · Score: 1

      Actually that is incorrect. I have formatted Windows about 20 times in the last 2-3 years, being that it is windows and pretty much standard to format every time the OS gets corrupt, and I have access to every song I have purchased on iTunes. You have to de-authorize your computer before you do the format, and then when you re-install itunes just select the paid tracks and authorize them on the new computer.

    17. Re:Now if only.... by Skye16 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh my. This is like Christmas now. Granted, it's like someone taking my Christmas presents - that I bought for myself - and giving them back - but it's better than no presents at all. Thanks!

      Now I have to scurry off and burn these CDs to disk and re-rip them. This is entirely too much effort expended on music I legitimately own (license). Yar.

    18. Re:Now if only.... by Mwongozi · · Score: 2, Informative

      The point is I just lost about 90$ in music

      You're either ignorant or flamebait. Contact iTMS support and they will reset your authorised computer list for you, allowing you to re-authorise and play all your music again.

    19. Re:Now if only.... by aussie_a · · Score: 1

      How is that legal under the DMCA? I thought using software that circumvents DRM was illegal in America?

    20. Re:Now if only.... by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I hope your job gets offshored to Russia. It ain't illegal after all.

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    21. Re:Now if only.... by (startx) · · Score: 1

      Either you are really thick headed, or you're trolling. If you do like the GP says, you will de-authorize all the other "authorized" computers. That means your previous installs. After that, you've got 5 open spaces again. Just authorize your current computer and you can listen to that $90 worth of music again.

    22. Re:Now if only.... by Kredal · · Score: 3, Informative

      no, you haven't lost anything. If you follow the instructions, (sign into itunes, de-authorize, then reauthorize your newly formatted computer), youll regain access to all of your purchased music on that computer. I recently had to do the same thing, and once I learned how to deauthorize all, I had no problems getting it done.

      When you authorize a computer, it send information about that computer to Apple's server, then checks against it when you want to play a protected song. if you deauthorize all computers, it clears the five fields in the database kept at Apple, and allows you to refill them with your five favorite computers again.

      Oh, and you can deauthorize from ANY computer with itunes installed, it doesn't even have to be one that has ever been authorized in the past. So, go back and read the grandparent's instructions, follow them without whining, and you'll have your music back.

      --
      Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
    23. Re:Now if only.... by BackInIraq · · Score: 1

      Nobody said it was legal...they just said you could do it... :)

      And since most people are only using it on music they've purchased anyway (there isn't exactly a huge market for 128k AAC versions of music that is already widely available in MP3 format, in varying bitrates, on the P2P networks), I don't think it has become a high-profile target.

      Yet.

    24. Re:Now if only.... by nuggetman · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Why burn them to disc and rerip them to get rid of the DRM? Run them through jHymn.

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    25. Re:Now if only.... by Onetrack · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Regarding: "By the way, no American artist has EVER gotten a cent form allofmp3.com " How much do you really think the artists are getting from iTunes.. The grand majority of the money still goes to the label and the high priced execs. Then of course you have ' artists ' who actually do make money, but should'nt. Check out Missy Elliot in MTV CRIBS - driveway has a lambo murcilago, ferarri 355 spider and a big 'ol Hummer, and she's just a ' poor black woman trying to make it in this world. ' ug.

    26. Re:Now if only.... by megla · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Since when is legality defined as whether an american gets paid or not? The site is legal under the laws of the territory it is located in, and will remain so until such time as the laws are changed. Until then, downloading music from it is classed as parallel importing, which the labels don't like but can do nothing about as it is perfectly legal too. And the advantage allofmp3.com has over p2p nets is the wide range of choice you get over the quality of your music (and that the prices are ridiculously cheap).

    27. Re:Now if only.... by Golias · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why burn them to disc and rerip them to get rid of the DRM? Run them through jHymn.

      Because then he couldn't bitch endlessly about the DRM, which he seems to really be enjoying?

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    28. Re:Now if only.... by Godman · · Score: 1

      http://allofmp3.com/ was it?

      --
      I have this really funny quote that I like to put here. Unfortunately, there's this really annoying thing called a char
    29. Re:Now if only.... by Secret+Agent+99 · · Score: 1

      When you authorize a computer, it send information about that computer to Apple's server, then checks against it when you want to play a protected song.

      Sort of. When you authorize a computer, Apple's server creates a key associated with your account and computer. The key is sent back to your computer. If the key is present, you can play your purchased music -- no need to be on the internet. That's also why you don't have to authorize iPods, but you do need to transfer purchased music from an authorized computer. No key, no transfer.

      Presumably that's also why you can't play the files on an authorized machine that's had its hard drive reformatted: the Apple server still lists it as authorized, but the local key has been erased.

    30. Re:Now if only.... by ta+ma+de · · Score: 1

      I totally forgot to do that this weekend and ate-up one additional authorization. shucks.

    31. Re:Now if only.... by aristotle-dude · · Score: 1, Troll
      Why do you need to reformat that often? i don't remember windows XP being that bad when I was a windows user at home and I don't think I ever reinstalled during the two years that I used XP before switching to the Mac.

      WTF are you doing with your computer?

      Get a Mac if you are having that much trouble. Think of how much free time you'd have it you did not have to reformat and reinstall so often.

      My eMac has its original Jaguar installation on it and I only performed a clean install when I upgrade to Tiger on my pbook.

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
    32. Re:Now if only.... by Total_Wimp · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because then he couldn't bitch endlessly about the DRM...

      Y'all are funny. I see post after post after post of a guy pointing out that DRM is a pain in the ass, then I see you guys comming up with post after post after post of ways to get around it. Then you call him a whiner for not jumping through all the hoops you've lined up for him.

      Guess what, you have to do a bunch of extra stuff when you buy DRMed music. It was not whining to point that out. It's not bitching to point out that non-DRMed music is far easier to use on just about any device and that you don't need to worry about special procedures to avoid them imploding on you someday.

      This process is called comparing features. When you geniuses wake up and realized that it is possible for Apple products to have some features with a downside, then maybe you can participate in the process. Until them, please continue to inusult and deride the rest of us instead of joining in an honest debate.

      TW

    33. Re:Now if only.... by aaqubed · · Score: 1

      Exactly. I have no idea whether or not it's legal. I just know it works, and lets me actually use the music I purchased.

      --
      Need help - license plate reverse lookup. NY plate CSE-2960. Guy almost hit me, blamed me, pissed me off.
    34. Re:Now if only.... by MoneyT · · Score: 1

      If it's jumping through hoops to deauthorize a system you're no longer useing and authorize a new system what do you call backing up files?

      --
      T Money
      World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
    35. Re:Now if only.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Y'all are funny. I see post after post after post of a guy pointing out that DRM is a pain in the ass

      Exactly. A guy. One guy.

      One guy who made it harder than it had to be, and then crapflooded Slashdot by complaining in multiple posts about how it's somehow Apple's fault that his life became after he shot himself in the foot.

      A couple of mouse-clicks make his problem go away. De-authorizing his computer before re-formatting makes his problem never come up in the first place. A free product for stripping DRM is out in the wild for him to download and side-step the entire issue, if he wants.

      In other words, there's nothing going on here worth complaining about, so he must be doing so mainly for the fun of it.

    36. Re:Now if only.... by tuxguy · · Score: 1

      *glances at .sig* Now, that should really be:

      aussie_a's Post! Copyright (C) 2005 aussie_a This post is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This post is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this post; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.

      --
      "I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak / There aint no disguising the truth!" - DC Talk
  2. She should be ashamed of herself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    If I knew that the 500 millionth iTunes song purchase was coming up soon, I would at least have the decency of buying a good song.

    1. Re:She should be ashamed of herself by Kohath · · Score: 2, Insightful

      She probably likes the song. Different people have different tastes in music.

      What's the point of putting down people who like different music than you?

      Maybe she'll read this and feel bad. Or maybe other Faith Hill fans will read this and stop listening to the music that makes them happy.

    2. Re:She should be ashamed of herself by Liquid+Len · · Score: 1

      Owwww, thanks a lot, buddy, now I'm stuck with this awful song in the head until tonight...

    3. Re:She should be ashamed of herself by SuppleMonkey · · Score: 1

      Take heart! Now only the Slashdot community knows of your putrid music tastes.

    4. Re:She should be ashamed of herself by lowe0 · · Score: 1

      If the post gets them to stop listening to crappy music, the poster is doing them a favor.

      Then again, here in Lafayette, country is pretty much all people have to listen to, unless you want the one pop station (which is even worse - 50 Cent, which makes me want to vomit uncontrollaby).

    5. Re:She should be ashamed of herself by tartanblue · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not defending 50 Cent, but you might want to get that whole uncontrollable vomiting thing looked at.

      --
      TartanBlue
    6. Re:She should be ashamed of herself by jsweval · · Score: 1

      I count two pop stations: 96.5 and 102.9

  3. 500 Million and not one sold in Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sorry, but this is the obligatory gripe about the non-existence of an Australian iTunes Music Store.

    1. Re:500 Million and not one sold in Australia by nubnub · · Score: 1

      You and about three other people want their Men at Work, Kylie Minogue, and INXS.

    2. Re:500 Million and not one sold in Australia by It'sYerMam · · Score: 1

      500 Million and they're still overcharging everyone in the EU and, in particular, the UK. (US: $0.99, EU: $1.20, UK: $1.40)

      --
      im in ur .sig, writin ur memes.
    3. Re:500 Million and not one sold in Australia by badmammajamma · · Score: 1

      Dude, iTunes is a piece of shit. Even in the U.S. they overcharge for their songs. I suppose if you want to get locked into the AAC format, and their DRM scheme, then iTunes is fine. Personally I like a little freedom.

      Be glad you don't have iTunes. It's overhyped crapola. It's only popular because of iPod sales.

      --
      Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
    4. Re:500 Million and not one sold in Australia by krakelohm · · Score: 1

      I know this will get a couple of *good answers*, but what do you recommend that has the same variety and does not make me buy the whole album/tape/cd for one or two songs, and is legal in the US?

      --
      You are all a bunch of idots.
    5. Re:500 Million and not one sold in Australia by badmammajamma · · Score: 1

      Excellent question! Unfortunately there are no good ones except for perhaps allofmp3.com. I don't want to get into a debate on the ethics or legality of allofmp3.com but they have the right idea at least as far as flexibility in format and DRM (there ain't any). It's sad that a site of dubious legality is the only one that's on the right track.

      --
      Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
    6. Re:500 Million and not one sold in Australia by Durf · · Score: 1

      Blah blah ditto blah Japanese ditto blah.

  4. Hasn't... by dreemernj · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hasn't anyone patented 'the display of multiple round numbers in celebration of sales achievement' yet? McDonalds should get on that.

    --
    1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
    1. Re:Hasn't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Too late now, 10 words: prior art

    2. Re:Hasn't... by sharpestmarble · · Score: 1

      I think Amazon.com might've. Check out their recent enforcing of some of their...more liberal...patents.

      --
      AC's modded -6. I don't see you, I don't mod you, anything you say is lost. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
  5. One look? by twoshortplanks · · Score: 1

    For me it still says "Open 24/7 on Macs and Windows PCs, the iTunes Music Store has become a smash hit, with music fans purchasing over 430 million songs worldwide to date."

    --
    -- Sorry, I can't think of anything funny to say here.
    1. Re:One look? by TJPile · · Score: 5, Informative

      "One look at Apple's FRONT page says it all." That's http://www.apple.com/ I can't help it if the editors butcher my submissions. I had links to Apple.com, the iTunes Music Store, and the winning song in my submission, but they were cut.

    2. Re:One look? by ediron2 · · Score: 1

      So, the editors *do* something after all...

  6. Time line by stoney27 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you look at the time line on the right side of the article page. It was just a little over a year ago that iTMS sold it's 100 Million song and now they are at half a Billion, 400 Million songs in just one year. I think that's amazing.

    I know Uber users complain about the DRM but I can tell you that most people, just don't care. They have their songs they can burn them to CD put them on their iPods. That's about all most people want to do.

    -S

    --

    It is said that a child learns wisdom from the parent,
    but the truly wise parent learns joy from the child
    1. Re:Time line by nuggetman · · Score: 3, Funny

      I know Uber users complain about the DRM but I can tell you that most people, just don't care. They have their songs they can burn them to CD put them on their iPods. That's about all most people want to do.

      OMG wtf, I want to be able to reencode my DRM-crapified files into multiplexed OGG Vorbis (and then to FLAC as I please) and put them on my iRiver and Creative Zen players which I bought because the iPod is such a fashion accessory. So no, the iTMS is NOT good enough for me and never WILL be good enough for me.

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    2. Re:Time line by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      put them on my iRiver and Creative Zen players which I bought because the iPod is such a fashion accessory.

      Not everyone buys iPod for looks.

      I have one but I don't show it to people, nor do I use the white earbuds. I tried using Zens and iRivers on several occasions but they were harder to use than they had to be. The Nomad Zen is larger (IIRC, twice the physical volume) and heavier than same capacity iPod too.

    3. Re:Time line by earthbound+kid · · Score: 1

      That's not entirely true. My girlfriend is not a techie at all, but she now hates Napster since all of "her" songs expired and don't work, and she's irritated at iTunes since she keeps bumping into the 5 computer limit, between her hardware upgrades/repairs and sharing with me. She may still not know the word "DRM," but she does know that she doesn't like it. Still at least the iTunes DRM is semi-unobnoxious, so at least we can put up with it, but it's nice to dream of a day when we won't have to use any at all.

    4. Re:Time line by lolocaust · · Score: 1

      Once all songs are sold in apple lossless (well FLAC would be better), and I can easily burn to CDs without too many restrictions, I'm sold. Until then, I will just have to pop out to CD world every now and again.

      --
      Why does my post history abruptly stop? I want to laugh at the stupid things I posted as a kid.
    5. Re:Time line by stoney27 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes but I think since you dropped all those acronyms it would put you in the Uber column.

      My brother who just got an iPod shuffle is an Electrical engineer and he would have no idea what OGG Vorbis is or why he would want to encode to FLAC. All he wants is something he can put songs on to so he can play music when he works out. So I think there is just a small minority that just likes to complain that they can't do everything with the music. Besides what is stopping you from burning the music to CD and the ripping it back into your computer with out DRM. Yea Yea it is a few more steps but not impossible.

      Not like what the video content providers what to do with the Broadcast flag where you will not be able to record a show at all. Or maybe just record it for a set period of time. Now that's worth complaining about. Or DRM that is worked into the OS where as you need a DRM monitor to watch HighDef video. That I will complain about!

      -S

      --

      It is said that a child learns wisdom from the parent,
      but the truly wise parent learns joy from the child
    6. Re:Time line by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      I can see that happening on the sharing limit and such. I am at four of five computers, that is two home computers, a work computer, and my sister's computer. At least there is supposedly a way to reset the authenticated computers, I've heard of people doing it.

    7. Re:Time line by thelost · · Score: 1

      I have an iriver h320 and I completely agree that it is much harder to use, however I would choose it any day over an iPod. While you may not treat your ipod as a fashion accessory I believe a lot of people do. It reminds me of yoyo's when I was little. The soft drinks companies brought out branded yoyo's and we all went insane for them, never did I think when I was getting them 'why don't I get a normal one' because it was about having the same as the next guy. I'm kind of sick seeing people with white earbuds in the street now, and it makes me glad I returned my first ipod and bought my iriver in it's place. It has the functionality I want and was much cheaper than an ipod. Also I would suggest checking out the iriver h10 http://www.iriver.com/html/product/prpa_product.as p?pidx=61 as an example of an incredibly stylish, functional and small mp3 player which is definately 1up from the clunky design of my h320.

      --
      Promote Charity on Myspace, Show Your Colours!
    8. Re:Time line by stoney27 · · Score: 1

      ...iTunes since she keeps bumping into the 5 computer limit, between her hardware upgrades/repairs and sharing with me.

      Yea I would have to agree that the 5 computer limit is the one area that I think Apple should improve on. We run into this at our house we have 4 people and 6 Mac in the house. So either I can share my music with one of the computers and I also share my music with my other computer at work. Of course this not Apple as much as what they had to work with in getting the content providers to agree to let them sell online music.

      -S

      --

      It is said that a child learns wisdom from the parent,
      but the truly wise parent learns joy from the child
    9. Re:Time line by delus10n0 · · Score: 1

      It's a button in your iTunes profile-- click on your email address (upper right) when inside iTunes to go there.

      Or you can e-mail their support people.

      --
      Not All Who Wander Are Lost
    10. Re:Time line by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 1

      It's amazing alright ... it seems to be constantly picking up speed with no signs of slowing down. Hello 1 billion at Christmas! waits for obligatory "I'm a Jew you insensitive clod!"

      --
      I am Spartacus
    11. Re:Time line by ncc74656 · · Score: 1
      I have an iriver h320 and I completely agree that it is much harder to use, however I would choose it any day over an iPod. While you may not treat your ipod as a fashion accessory I believe a lot of people do.

      Who gives a rip what other people do with their iPods? You sound like those people who started using Linux because they thought it made them more 1337 than the "Windoze lamerz," but who then switched from Linux to *BSD because Linux was getting too popular. Whether some kid whose parents bought him his iPod thinks it makes him cool shouldn't have any bearing on your decision on whether to buy one. Either it does the job you want it to do or it doesn't. I eventually bought an iPod photo because it's a bit less of a one-trick pony than the older models (I can dump digital-camera pix into it and view them without going through a computer, which is nice when you're out and about and the card in the camera fills up). I was using a Palm with AeroPlayer before that, but was getting tired of shuffling music on and off of it. With 60 GB instead of 512 MB, I can fit all of my music on it and still have tons of space for pix or other stuff.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    12. Re:Time line by thelost · · Score: 1

      i give a rip because i had an ipod and it didn't work properly, so i returned and and decided to go for something else that was cheaper. As it turned out my iriver was cheaper, more useful and functioned more in the way i wanted. If i am annoyed when I see so many people with ipods it's because I don't think they are as good value as other mp3 players on the market, which seems to me a perfectly reasonable thing to base my comment on. As it happens my iriver can also transfer pictures across from cameras without a computer which was one of the reasons I got it, and it's also great for recording audio and watching videos. I got it for its functionality, not to be obscure or elitist. My complaint was purely that people are buying the ipod in such droves because they don't realise the choices they actually have, and if apple arn't marketing it as a fashion accessory then then i'll happily cut off my left leg.

      --
      Promote Charity on Myspace, Show Your Colours!
    13. Re:Time line by enjo13 · · Score: 1

      Too true..

      I made the mistake of introducing my wife to MP3 players and iTunes. Last year we spent more than 10x on music than we ever have before.

      --
      Turn s60 photos into awesome videos with mScrapbook for all S60 3rd edition phones!
    14. Re:Time line by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      I'm kind of sick seeing people with white earbuds in the street now

      Why? You don't think people should listen to music on their Sony PSPs?

      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    15. Re:Time line by jonom · · Score: 1

      What's really amazing is that people have spent half a billion dollars buying low resolution crap audio!

    16. Re:Time line by LordSnooty · · Score: 1

      nor do I use the white earbuds.

      Absolutely. In this country at least the white earbuds have earned the nickname "mugger magnet". Your choice over whether to replace the 'phones with some cheap-looking pair that make it look like you have some crappy FM radio says a lot about you as a person.

    17. Re:Time line by Refrag · · Score: 1
      Yes but I think since you dropped all those acronyms it would put you in the Uber column.
      You misspelled goober.
      --
      I have a website. It's about Macs.
  7. Sure by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 2, Funny
    Now if only there was a store as popular as Apple's Itunes that didn't sell DRM-encrusted music files.

    I'd like a free pony too, but I'm more likely to get my pony than you are DRM-less RIAA music.

    1. Re:Sure by tehshen · · Score: 1

      You can have my pony with Digital Riding Management; you're only allowed to lease it to five friends

      --
      Guy asked me for a quarter for a cup of coffee. So I bit him.
  8. Freebies? by Sparr0 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The first question that comes to mind is... how many of the downloads were free? I have seen so many ads for free songs (giveaways, contests, promotions, etc) on itunes, napster, etc that I have lost count. I wouldn't even hazard a guess at the paid:free ratio, it could be anything, 1:10, 1:1, 10:1...

    1. Re:Freebies? by ray9x · · Score: 3, Informative

      None of them.
      According to the promotion rules,
      "1) downloading a song from iTunes (any free downloads will be deemed an ineligible entry)" -r.

      --
      .-.
    2. Re:Freebies? by the_unknown_soldier · · Score: 1

      The iTunes Freebies are about one song a week and they make you give away your credit card. Chances are most people who signed up probably bought a couple of other songs. I doubt the free song download on iTunes would be bigger than 20million.

    3. Re:Freebies? by Have+Blue · · Score: 3, Insightful

      One of the secrets of keeping promotions like that profitable is that few of the winning entries ever get redeemed. People lose them or forget about finding them or don't care about them all the time. I'm sure the number of free songs downloaded from the music store is much lower than the number of free music codes distributed by Apple's promotional partners.

    4. Re:Freebies? by Sparr0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      entry? promotion? what? im just talking about getting to the number 500 million

    5. Re:Freebies? by justforaday · · Score: 1

      Based on this earlier slashdot article, Apple was running a contest where songs and iPods were given away for certain milestones as they approached 500 million. Since the GP post points out the rules to the contest which indicate that free downloads won't be counted, he/she is assuming that free and promo downloads weren't counted in that 500 million. However, the truth is that we really don't know...

      --
      I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
    6. Re:Freebies? by Sparr0 · · Score: 1

      Given that they say they are inelligible for the prize I would take that to mean that they ARE counted. The only thing I would consider undetermined is whether the prize would have gone to #499999 or #500001 or no one at all if it had been a freebie.

    7. Re:Freebies? by Chuckstar · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm almost positive that I remember hearing in one of the quarterly conference calls that any time Apple announces a number of songs downloaded for iTMS, that they always mean _paid_ downloads only. Frankly, if they were including free downloads, they could leave themselves open for claims of securities fraud -- what if 500 million songs only meant $200 million, when everyone clearly assumes its close to $1 per song. (Its not quite $1 because a lot of songs are bought in albums, where there is a bulk discount. But Apple has provided guidance in the past what the average $ per song is.)

    8. Re:Freebies? by Johnny+Mozzarella · · Score: 2, Informative

      I just found this out the hard way last night.

      During the recent promotion with Pepsi, I did the tilt the bottle trick and scored about 6 free songs. My wife is not as into computers as I am and I figured this would be a good way to get her to use iTunes more. So I redeemed all 6 songs and showed her she had 6 credits on the iTunes Music Store to pick out songs she would like. I helped her pick one out and showed her how to buy it. She said she didn't want to use them all at once.

      Flash forward 6 months...Last night my wife says she wants to get this song she heard from the iTunes Music store. Great! No, terrible. When we logged in we discovered that the 5 remaining credits had expired.

      So you are correct. Very few songs ever actually get redeemed on way or an other.

    9. Re:Freebies? by beemishboy · · Score: 1

      From what I recall of the original Pepsi bottlecap promotion, Apple does *not* include freebies in its iTunes download totals.

    10. Re:Freebies? by Sparr0 · · Score: 1

      you should check out the laws governing gift certificates and coupons and such in your area, i dont think something like that can expire so quickly without notice.

    11. Re:Freebies? by Have+Blue · · Score: 1
      Yeah, that's one way. Also add:
      • People who lose the cap before entering it into the store.
      • People who throw away the cap because they don't want the prize (for whatever reason).
      • People who didn't read the label and didn't know it was a winning cap.
      • People who read the label and didn't think it was worth installing iTunes to take advantage of it.
      • People who read the label and don't have enough related knowledge to see what the contest is offering and how to claim it (it's really not that easy if you start from first principles).
      • People who want the prize but never remember to go to the store and redeem it (this is also a large factor in mail-in rebates).
  9. Re:No, they can't! by lxs · · Score: 1

    You can trademark facts now?

    This planet is doomed, doomed I tell you!

  10. I have to wonder... by DanielNS84 · · Score: 4, Funny

    How long ago Kazaa passed this mark and if any information was collected from it. I also wonder if information was published about said person and their music taste on a major news site. ;)

    --
    Marky Mark Killed Jason Bourne!
  11. It's Bad and Wrong! by Max+Romantschuk · · Score: 1

    We all know that downloading music supports the terrorists.

    On a more serious note, when will the TV and movie industry finally get it? I'm still stuck with downloading Stargate Atlantis over P2P as it doesn't air here (in Finland) at all... Give me the option to pay (a reasonable sum) for Pete's sake!

    --
    .: Max Romantschuk :: http://max.romantschuk.fi/
    1. Re:It's Bad and Wrong! by shark72 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "On a more serious note, when will the TV and movie industry finally get it? I'm still stuck with downloading Stargate Atlantis over P2P as it doesn't air here (in Finland) at all... Give me the option to pay (a reasonable sum) for Pete's sake!"

      It took (give or take) 15 years between the viability of the MP3 format and the first hugely successful online music stores.

      The online video retail market right now is like what the online music market was five years ago: it's there, but it's not widely used by content producers or consumers. With Apple, Creative and Microsoft all making noises about video players (either officially or unofficially), we'll probably have to wait less than five years. The leaked Netflix screenshots and other signs have been promising.

      Sometimes it sucks being on the bleeding edge. I don't think it's an issue of whether the industry "gets it" -- they get it just fine; they understand that these things take time to build a market.

      --
      Sitting in my day care, the art is decopainted.
  12. Re:Fake by agent+dero · · Score: 1

    Apple

    Seriously now.....

    --
    Error 407 - No creative sig found
  13. 1% is NOT a drop in the bucket by jokkebk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So at 99 cents per song, that's a little under 500 million in revenue over 3 years. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the 33 billion dollar annual global music market.

    But considering that most of it came from last year's sales (400 million?), I'd say that even 1% share of global music market from a single store is quite huge contribution.

    Especially when they are selling their music a lot cheaper than those new Britney Spears albums and whatever happens to sell well these days in the US.

    --
    http://codeandlife.com
  14. Re:Fake by Filip22012005 · · Score: 1

    see http://www.apple.com/, not the link mentioned above

    --
    When the policeman of the tie, rule you violate, hello punishment of the kitty?
  15. UPDATE THE LINK by Donniedarkness · · Score: 1

    then why were we linked to the itunes page? Someone needs to update the link

    --
    Earn a % of cash back from Newegg, Tiger Direct, Walmart.com, and more: http://www.mrrebates.com?refid=458505
  16. Re:Fake by mendaliv · · Score: 1, Funny

    Maybe the 430M figure is what Apple's reporting, and this site accidentially did the math if it were, say MiS (Mega binary Songs; multiplied 430 by 2^20) and just rounded up!

  17. One look at Apple's front page says it all by akadruid · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple's iTunes Music Store can now say half a billion served. ...Except that you didn't link to their lovely half-a-billion front page, you linked to the store page which they forgot to update since 'over 430,000 '.

    For the teeming horders: clicky on the apple in the top left, et voila.

    --
    "Those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything." (attrib. Joseph Stalin)
    1. Re:One look at Apple's front page says it all by Skynyrd · · Score: 1

      Apple's iTunes Music Store can now say half a billion served. ...Except that you didn't link to their lovely half-a-billion front page, you linked to the store page which they forgot to update since 'over 430,000 '.

      For the teeming horders: clicky on the apple in the top left, et voila.

      The submitter posted a while back stating that his submisssion had been edited, and they changed the URL he posted.

  18. iTunes uncontended by Sv-Manowar · · Score: 1

    It seems like iTunes has the market completely under control at the moment, the fashionability of macs themselves, along with the iPod have helped make iTunes the must have store, compared to Napster and others

    It's good to see apple succeeding with something they innovated in, I feel we will be seeing the 1 billionth song purchase in the near future.

    --
    Business Voyeur
  19. Re:Fantastic PR by salesgeek · · Score: 1

    Instead of republishing meaningless Apple PR on Slashdot, perhaps a more interesting discussion would be, how will Apple make money of its music business when the MP3 player market has reached saturation?

    Like all Apple products, the response to competition will be the iPod II.

    --
    -- $G
  20. What is this world coming too? by Fahrvergnuugen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just look

    at what the prize winning losers were buying!

    Jessica Simpson? Kelly Clarkson? Brian McKnight?!

    Oh the agony...

    --
    Kiteboarding Gear Mention slashdot and get 10% off!
    1. Re:What is this world coming too? by generic-man · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm more amazed by the fact that someone actually bought "My Immortal" by the Kidz Bop Kids as an XXX,X00,000th song (496,700,000 if you want to be precise). Imagine a dark song by Evanescence covered by a shout-singing chorus of 10-year-olds. Now that's 99 cents well spent.

      --
      For more information, click here.
    2. Re:What is this world coming too? by b4k3d+b34nz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As I'm sure has been said before, personal preferences in music aren't governed by other people. I'm willing to bet $50 that not a single person on slashdot likes your whole collection of music either. Granted, I don't listen to Jessica Simpson or Kelly Clarkson, but considering they're selling quite a bit of music, I'd say somebody does. Ok, I'm done trolling now.

      --
      Grammar Lesson: you're is a contraction of "you are"; your means you possess something; yore means days gone by.
    3. Re:What is this world coming too? by b4k3d+b34nz · · Score: 1

      I know you were being sarcastic. I'll just laugh next time.

      --
      Grammar Lesson: you're is a contraction of "you are"; your means you possess something; yore means days gone by.
    4. Re:What is this world coming too? by hondo77 · · Score: 1

      Ripping on the music collections of others is so high school.

      --
      I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
    5. Re:What is this world coming too? by dema · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If there's one thing I've learned in my years of being an indie music snob and specifically this past year working in "the biz," it's that everyone has shitty taste in music, except me (:

    6. Re:What is this world coming too? by cosmic_0x526179 · · Score: 1
      Just look

      As interesting as the song choices and the demographics are... the numbers in the right side bar are fascinating. Over 1 year to sell the first 100-million and ~67 days to sell the most recent 100-million ! Someone want to plot those dates and counts sold on a chart please ? There are still ~5.5 months left in 2005, I would expect (based on those numbers and the astounding rate of increase) to see at least another 300-million by Christmas (if not more).

      In the beginning, Steve was beholding to the record labels for source material. Very soon now, Apple will own the primary means of music distribution, the shoe will proverbially be on the other foot. Somehow the SteveRDF has allowed the record companies to connive at their own destruction. Because the day is coming when downloaded distribution will be a bigger slice of the pie than physical CD's.

      --
      This msg is brought to you by the letter 'W'.. for Worthless Wuss
    7. Re:What is this world coming too? by dmarcoot · · Score: 1

      that will be a long way off. About year ago when they were at 100 million, downloads accounted for about 1% of music sales. so maybe its 3% now?

    8. Re:What is this world coming too? by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      It probably saved some parent the pain of paying $15 for an entire Kidz Bop album.

      Whereas my four year old is being taught how to differentiate between Sammy, David, and Eddie.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  21. Re:Fantastic PR by nuggetman · · Score: 1

    Apple has been using the ITMS store as a loss leader to sell ipods, but there will come a day when the IPOD market becomes saturated. Instead of republishing meaningless Apple PR on Slashdot, perhaps a more interesting discussion would be, how will Apple make money of its music business when the MP3 player market has reached saturation?

    We'll go back to the articles on how Apple will be filing chapter 11 next week and be bought by MS the following week.

    --
    ...and that's all there is to it.
  22. Re:Sounds fishy... by generic-man · · Score: 2, Informative

    You didn't expect that sales would suddenly accelerate up to the 500M mark, what with that enormous prize Apple was dangling out there for all to see?

    --
    For more information, click here.
  23. .au iTunes store? by DoctorLivingston · · Score: 1

    Now if only us Australian could get the iTunes music store that has been a matter of weeks away for the last 18 months...

  24. Re:Not great... by CrazyTalk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hmmm. And now much revenue did YOU earn over the past 3 years? I think thats phenomenal for a player of Apples size.

  25. iTunes is popular but... by Jeffus · · Score: 1, Interesting

    we should support "smaller" sites like eMusic, so they can expand their selection to include more popular selectioins and have a chance to compete with the likes of iTunes. They off high quality, legal, non-DRM mp3s for 22-25 cents (depending on your monthly plan). Right now they are offering 50 free downloads from their very unique catalog (of which you can cancel if you like, but I'm sure not going to). Some of the stuff you can get from iTunes (so it's cheaper from eMusic.com) but a lot of you can't because it's from mostly independent labels or back-collections. If you like great music no-one's heard of, this is your site. The user-base seems pretty knowledable about what's good, so their "list" feature is nice. They also have incorporated some social networking/clustering features which allow you to see who your "neighbors" are with common interests. Supporting a site like eMusic, allows them to expand their already great selection, so check them out: eMusic.com. At least try it out, get your free mp3s, and then decide. They are offering 50 free because they believe that once you try it, you'll want to continue using the service; it's the best kind of advertising gimmick there is: offering a good product.

    1. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 2, Insightful
      depending on your monthly plan

      Right there you lost me. Me no want monthly plan. And I can convert Apple's AAC stuff to non-DRM MP3s and they sound great.

    2. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Jeffus · · Score: 1

      Well, technically, you are not supposed to rip the DRM from the aac's you get from Apple. And with each release of iTunes, they will make it harder to do this. What if you could pay 10$ for 3-4 albums on iTunes, would you? Seems like a good deal--oh wait, that's what you can do on eMusic. That's one album on iTunes a month. I assume you buy more than that per month.

    3. Re:iTunes is popular but... by ShoobieRat · · Score: 1

      I wonder where the money goes from purchases to those "smaller" sites?

    4. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1

      They'll never eliminate the ability to burn to CD. That's the eternal loophole. ;-) No different than an AAC to AIFF to MP3 conversion.

    5. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Jeffus · · Score: 1

      That is allowed though--and it shouldn't be a loophole. It's your music for gosh sakes, you should be able to put it into any format you want. By supporting non-DRM sites and independent labels, you support this ideal of mutual respect for artist/consumer: good music for good prices. Then it wouldn't matter if DRM did not exist because people would be willing to pay the artist their fair share.

    6. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Jeffus · · Score: 1

      The same places it goes as iTunes: the owner of the distribution site and the labels, who funnel it to the artist. With sites that host independent labels, however, that amount that goes to the artist is greater than that at popular labels.

    7. Re:iTunes is popular but... by shark72 · · Score: 1

      "we should support "smaller" sites like eMusic, so they can expand their selection to include more popular selectioins and have a chance to compete with the likes of iTunes. They off high quality, legal, non-DRM mp3s for 22-25 cents (depending on your monthly plan)."

      It's interesting that you mention that. A common claim that I see on Slashdot goes something like this:

      When will the music industry wake up and realize that consumers demand DRM-free music?

      You've underscored the unfortunate reality: most consumers don't care. If the Slashdot sentiment were correct, it would have been eMusic (or Magnatunes, or MP3Tunes, or another one of the struggling DRM-free sites) in the article headline, and some lone Slashdotter would have been exhorting others to give the iTMS a chance.

      --
      Sitting in my day care, the art is decopainted.
    8. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Infonaut · · Score: 1
      You've underscored the unfortunate reality: most consumers don't care. If the Slashdot sentiment were correct, it would have been eMusic (or Magnatunes, or MP3Tunes, or another one of the struggling DRM-free sites) in the article headline, and some lone Slashdotter would have been exhorting others to give the iTMS a chance.

      I'm not sure that consumers don't care, but they care more about the actual music than the format in which it arrives. Anyone who talks first about the format, then secondly about the actual music found on the store is missing the big picture. For better or worse, people want music they like (and have been told to like), not music they've never heard of, from acts that couldn't land a big contract.

      --
      Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
    9. Re:iTunes is popular but... by realityfighter · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not trying to down on eMusic, but I think they would get a lot more traffic to their site if you didn't have to put in your billing information to even see a hint of their music catalog. I went there thinking "Hmm, they might have (obscure artist I like). If they do I might just sign up!" But they won't tell me the details until AFTER I type in my credit card? No thanks.

      --
      A strain of paranoid prevention can be worse than the disease, whate'er the intention.
    10. Re:iTunes is popular but... by Jeffus · · Score: 1

      That's just a matter of clicking through the sign up stuff so it goes to their normal page; you can see their catalog w/o signing up.

  26. McDonalds by mfloy · · Score: 1

    Any bets on how long befor Apple serves more tunes than McDonalds served Big Macs? Half a billion is a pretty respectable number, and I wonder what the initial corporate expectations were when iTunes launched. I bet they would have been happy with 50 million by now.

    --
    Voice your opinion!
  27. Re:Fantastic PR by OmniVector · · Score: 1

    the itunes music store has been turning a profit for awhile now. it might have been a loss leader for a few months when it first came out, but in the volumes they sell at now they're most certainly turning a profit since their initial investment in the infrastructure needed to setup the music store.

    --
    - tristan
  28. Re:No, they can't! by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1
    With half a billion served, their (Apple's) pockets are deep enough to attract the wrath of McDonalds should they "mess" around with "their" slogan.

    Apple didn't use the slogan. Apple's web site says:

    Over half a billion songs have been sold and legally downloaded from the iTunes Music Store
    The poster TJPile used the term "half a billion served". I suppose McDonald's could go after him.
    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  29. Re:No, they can't! by hotspotbloc · · Score: 2, Interesting
    While your warning of caution is correct it seems they don't have a trademark on "half a billion served" but do own the trademarks on the following:

    1-800-MC1-STCK, Always Quality. Always Fun., America's Favorite Fries, Arch Deluxe, Aroma Café, Automac, Big Mac, Big N' Tasty, Big Xtra!, Birdie, the Early Bird and Design, Black History Makers of tomorrow, Bolshoi Mac, Boston Market, Cajita Feliz, Changing The Face of The World, Chicken McGrill, Chicken McNuggets, Chipolte Mexican Grill, Cuarto De Libra, Did Somebody Say , Donatos Pizza, emac digital, Egg McMuffin, Extra Value Meal, Filet-O-Fish, French Fry Box Design, Fruit Buzz, Gep Op Mac, Golden Arches, Golden Arches Logo, Good Jobs For Good People, Good Times. Great Taste., Gospelfest, Great Breaks, Grimace and Design, Groenteburger, HACER, Hamburglar and Design, Hamburger University, Happy Meal, Happy Meal Box Design, Have You Had Your Break Today?, Healthy Growing Up, Helping Hands Logo, Hey, i'm lovin' it, It Could Happen!, Iam Hungry and Design, Immunize for Healthy Lives, Kiwiburger, Lifting Kids To A Better Tomorrow, Mac Attack, Mac Jr., Mac Tonight and Design, McDonald's Racing Team Design, Made For You, McBaby, McBacon, McBurger, McBus, McCafe, McChicken, McDia Feliz, MCDirect Shares, McDonaldland, McDonald's , McDonald's All American High School Basketball Game, McDonald's All American High School Jazz Bank, McDonald's All Star Racing Team, McDonald's Building Design, McDonald's Earth Effort, McDonald's Earth Effort Logo, McDonald's Express, McDonald's Express Logo, McDonald's Is Your Kind of Place, McDonald's Means Opportunity, McDouble, McDrive, McExpress, McFamily, McFlurry, McFranchise, McGriddles, McGrilled Chicken, McHappy Day, McHero, McJobs, McKids, McKids Logo, McKroket, McMaco, McMemories, McMenu, McMusic, McNifica, McNuggets, McNuggets Kip, McOz, McPlane, McPollo, McPrep, McRecycle USA, McRib, McRoyal, McScholar, McScholar of the Year, McSwing, McWorld, Mighty Wings, Millennium Dreamers, Morning Mac, Quarter Pounder, RMCC, RMHC, Ronald McDonald and Design, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Ronald McDonald House Charities Logo, Ronald McDonald House Logo, Ronald Scholars, Sausage McGriddles, Sausage McMuffin, Single Arch Logo, Speedee Logo, Super Size, Teriyaki McBurger, The House That Love Built, The House That Love Built Design, twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepickleso niononasesameseedbun, Vegi Mac, We Love to See You Smile, What's On Your Place, When the U.S. Wins You Win, World Children's Day, World Children's Day Logo, World Famous Fries, You Deserve a Break Today, McDWireless.

    Yet strangely McMansion, McSlave and burgerinduceddiarrhea are missing.

    --
    "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity but they've always worked for me" - HST
  30. I wonder... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...what the headlines would say if the 500 millionth was "Grab the devil by the horns and f**k him up the ass" by Sum41?

    LOL

    1. Re:I wonder... by BlueDjinn · · Score: 2, Funny

      Even better, what if it had been a song by these guys?

      http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/ viewArtist?artistId=2989441

      (Warning: NSFW, which is kind of the point...)

      Interesting that the iTMS censors the words in the song *title* but not the *artist*, and even includes a matter-of-fact bio background on them:

      http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/ com.apple.jingle.app.store.DirectAction/biography? artistId=2989441

      Whoops!!

  31. Re:Who cares ? by Einherjer · · Score: 1

    you can "burn" the songs to a cd-image if you like, and rip this cd-image to mp3/flac/ogg, whatever you want. all within your rights. (yes, this includes you, Americans. :)

  32. Support them all you want, but by caveat · · Score: 1

    without some form of DRM, I very much doubt that you'll ever see big-label music on there. Just not gonna happen - I don't think it was Apple's choice to DRM iTMS stuff; I'd bet a week's pay it was a condition imposed by the cartel.

    --

    Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
  33. Good point, but... by Jeffus · · Score: 1

    if sites like this did proliferate, catering to independent labels who arguably do care more about the music than turning an exuberant profit, then perhaps the ideals that the community against things like DRM uphold would proliferate as well.

  34. Re:Fantastic PR by Wildkat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    iTMS is not a loss leader. Early on it broke even or had a loss due to one time charges related to startup. In the mean time they have built up a dominating position in market share and mind share. The addition of Podcasts was a brilliant move to get even more people to use the store. Apple is positioning itself for the coming fee based Podcasts. Can you think of a Podcast you would pay $5 a year to listen to? What if Apple collected 1 of those 5 dollars and took care of all the subscription management and payment process.

    The songs may be DRMed but its pretty fair DRM - I can make unlimited copies as long as I change the playlist, have legal copies on more than one computer and I can transfer everything to a new computer when I buy one.

    The iTMS certainly helps sell iPods but now Apple is getting the reverse benefit. Having sold over 11 million pods in the last 6 months alone, there are a lot of Pod owners out there and by definition they are into music. If each one buys just one song a month over the next year thats over 120 million songs. Show a profit of just $.10 a song and you have $12 million. I still Limewire far more than I get off iTMS but I also have bought way more than one song a month for the last year and so has my wife.

    Apple has created a way to earn a very very small fee off something everyone said people wouldn't pay for. They have also used that thing as a way to integrate Apple products into peoples daily lives and added "or a Macintosh" to the list of computer options people think of. Based on last quarters sales numbers, more and more are taking that option. And they make a profit on the service to boot. Apples PR machine is one of the best for NOT plastering how much profit they made off selling songs. They tell analysis that during their financial conference calls not on the front of the store.

  35. Legal downloaded singles up, albums down. by infosinger · · Score: 1

    Inside Mac Radio indicated that sales of singles this year are up and as predicted on this site a long time ago, sales of albums are down. Sales of legal downloads are up dramatically.

  36. Stormin' by ShoobieRat · · Score: 1

    500-million...

    I had a hand in that. Thanks iTunes!

  37. You've just downloaded the 500 millionth song!! by illuminatedwax · · Score: 1

    Click here to claim your prize!!!

    --
    Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
  38. She's gonna be hurting come April 15 2006 by viking099 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Y'know... her tax bill is going to be rather larger because of this.
    10,000 song card value: $9,900
    10 x 50 song card value: $495
    10 x iPod color 60gb: $3,990
    4 Coldplay tickets and backstage passes: (no idea here, we'll go for $100 each): $400

    Additional reported income: $14,785
    Hopefully she'll be able to sell some of that stuff so she'll be able to pay taxes on the cash value. Apple is required to report the maximum possible value of these to the IRS, and it'll be included as income for 2005.

    Maybe she's a housewife or a dependant and doesn't have much income for this to get tacked onto.

    1. Re:She's gonna be hurting come April 15 2006 by GarfBond · · Score: 3, Informative

      Song cards tend to have very little cash value on them. The fine print on the $50 card is "Prepaid card cash value is 1/10 of one cent." I imagine it's the same for the 10000 song card.

  39. Duh by Linus+Torvaalds · · Score: 1

    The iTMS could always say that. This is the first time it can say it truthfully though.

  40. Correct link should have been.... by Qa32 · · Score: 1

    THIS

  41. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  42. Leased? by Migraineman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wouldn't it be more accurate to say "Amy Greer of Lafayette, Indiana leased Faith Hill's Mississippi Girl to win?"

    Not to be overly pedantic, but the music labels are horribly opposed to us "consumers" actually owning *anything.* The Sonny Bono Retroactive Indefinite Copyright Extension Act was brilliant. They're struggling to control the distribution channel. Pretty soon they'll be using DRM to control the end-user applications - {clippy}"Sorry, you only have the One Play per Day license on song 'GarbageOfTheWeek.' Would you like to upgrade to the Unlimited Per-Day license for only a few sheckels per month more?"{/clippy}

    Yeah, I'm done now ...

    1. Re:Leased? by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      A lease expires. Apple has been advertising that you DO own the song, and any attempts on their part to change this (for songs that have already been purchased) will result in a nasty class-action suit against the company, massive piles of bad press, etc. Apple's contracts with the record labels do not allow the record labels to do what you have described.

      As you might imagine, the record labels are rather uncomfortable about this arrangement, since Apple has monopoly power to strong-arm the labels and dictate terms. Personally, I just find it ridiculously amusing that Apple has monopoly power, and I hope they have fun with it while it lasts.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    2. Re:Leased? by CrazyTalk · · Score: 1

      Nope, that's not really more accurate. A lease implies that when the lease turn is up, you have to return the item. She can keep her downloaded song forever. If you really want to nitpick, perhaps you could say that she purchased a license to listen to the song.

    3. Re:Leased? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I might live another hundred years the way medicine is going.

      I'm not confident Apple will be in the music business in a hundred years, or still producing an AAC decoder with FairPlay at that time.

      Maybe there will be a breakthrough in information theory and they'll be able to losslessly transcode my songs for me, or maybe they'll give me access the lossless versions of the songs for free before they change formats. But neither of these is in the Terms of Service.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    4. Re:Leased? by Migraineman · · Score: 1

      That's pretty much my point. The song has been purchased ... sort of ... with conditions. It's not really a purchase in the traditional sense. If Apple goes belly-up, what recourse does the "purchaser" of songs have regarding the disposition of the music he bought? Twenty years from now, will people be nursing Win2K machines just to keep their album collections alive?

  43. iTunes still doesn't exist on Linux by jazzesnee · · Score: 1

    We must show Apple that there is a market for iTunes on Linux. So please sign: http://www.petitiononline.com/itmslin/

    1. Re:iTunes still doesn't exist on Linux by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      It was explained to me that Apple will not port iTunes to Linux because Linux is Apple's direct competition, and Apple considers Linux to be a bigger threat to their business than Windows. Of course there are also cost/benefit factors as well; porting iTunes would be a pain in the ass (they'd have to port QuickTime first, and that wouldn't be fun at all).

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  44. Responsible journalism... by HockeyPuck · · Score: 1

    With the recent article about Googling for CIA agents... http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/15/20 15229&tid=158&tid=95&tid=1
    Is it wise to place the name and city of the winner in a major announcement like this?

    1. Re:Responsible journalism... by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

      They have to. Otherwise how would we know that a real person won????

      +++
      Cache In, Trash Out!

  45. No, that's why people use ITMS by SuperKendall · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you were talking about other stores you might be correct.

    But once you buy a song from ITMS, it cannot be revoked by Apple - so you own that song.

    Now you might then go on to argue about transferrability, and that is an issue - but to me revokability is the line between "owning" something or not.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  46. Support fair labels, not just smaller sites by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    eMusic is great and all, but another option to support artists better is to still buy stuff from ITMS - but try and look for stuff on labels that are more fair to the artist.

    Here I am thinking in particular of CDBaby. They are a great label with very fair terms for artists, and you can find thier stuff on ITMS, like The Haight Gang.

    One thing I wish ITMS would offer is the ability to search by label (or even see the label a song comes from!).

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  47. I would have liked to see the usage graph... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    I was wondering if people slowed down purchases until the counter got close - I would have liked to see the usage graph to see if there was much of a spike around the 500b mark!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:I would have liked to see the usage graph... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      No, the counter was inaccurate. I looked at it for the first time yesterday within minutes of when the 500,000,000 song was purchased. At the rate it was counting the 'predicted' time was around midnight, but this was won at around 14:30.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  48. Re:Who cares ? by kmmatthews · · Score: 1
    Hey, I could sketch paintings I saw and get my own copy, too!

    The point is that what you're suggesting is a very lossy process.

    --
    feh. stuff.
  49. Re:Not great... by tbone1 · · Score: 1
    Only Apple could turn a turd like this into marketing hype.

    As opposed to what, Windows? 99% of the movie 'hits'? The Model T? The cab races known as NASCAR? Major league baseball?

    Take a hard, cold look at popular culture and tell me that most things aren't overhyped.

    --

    The Independent: Reverend Spooner Arrested in Friar Tuck Incident - ISIHAC, Historical Headlines
  50. Re:Convert to MP3 by ncc74656 · · Score: 1
    In addition from the "Deauthorize All" wisdom of other responses, may I also suggest investing in a CD-RW disc for the purposes of converting your iTunes song purchases to CD-DA tracks, then rip the tracks to MP3s.

    Yes, I am well aware of the "damage" that happens when converting between lossless [sic] formats

    Um...the damage occurs when converting between lossy formats, not when converting to/between lossless formats.

    That said, the better approach would be to deprotect your files with Hymn. You'll get the same sound quality as the original and the same filesize (not larger, as it would be if you burned to CD and ripped to FLAC or whatever), and it'll play in anything that handles AAC (not just iPods and iTunes).

    --
    20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  51. Re:Fantastic PR by krakelohm · · Score: 1

    No thanks, the iPod III will be the best, more suited for businesses right... right???

    --
    You are all a bunch of idots.
  52. 2:44 pm EST? by chibimagic · · Score: 1

    That's really interesting, that she downloaded the winning song at 2:44 pm est, or 11:44 am pst. I know that the counter on the front page definitely hadn't hit 500 million yet as of 6 pm pst last night. I think it still hadn't hit at 11 pm, and that the big congrats message showed up around 1 or 2 am.

    That means that the cache between the counter and actual songs sold count is greater than than a lot of people thought. I've heard estimates of a 5,000-7,000 song difference, but the actual must be something like 500,000-700,000 songs! Trying to time your buying to the front page counter is just completely hopeless.

  53. It's the quality, man by cantalpii · · Score: 1

    I am a recent Mac convert, and love a lot of Mac software, especially iTunes. Despite this, I've never bought a track from the iTunes shop, and I find it hard to understand why so many people do, because the quality is so low. If I spend money on a track, I expect it to be loss-less quality, or certainly higher than 128 AAC (which I know is fairly good), no matter how convenient.

  54. MLB.com has Digital Download by theurge14 · · Score: 1

    I know you're asking for TV shows, but interestingly enough I visited MLB.com this morning and noticed they have a Digital Download section. There I found for $3.50 I can purchase a full broadcast of any of their available baseball games, including the 2005 All Star Game or the 1965 ALCS. Pretty neat if you're a baseball fan.

    But then when I went to checkout I discovered that the download is a WMV file at 350k bit rate. BLECH, give me Quicktime or give me death.

  55. Re:LOL by Jeffus · · Score: 1

    I also said ideals. ;)

  56. Re:Who cares ? by Einherjer · · Score: 1

    flac is not lossy :)

  57. Hmm, even more interesting then... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    No, the counter was inaccurate. I looked at it for the first time yesterday within minutes of when the 500,000,000 song was purchased. At the rate it was counting the 'predicted' time was around midnight, but this was won at around 14:30.

    Now that's even more interesting, I was wondering how accurate the counter was. I would still like to see if there was a surge around the time the counter itself got close to 500,000,000, even if the winning song was already sold!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  58. Tried using it, didn't work. by holysin · · Score: 1

    Can't see what the fuss is with itunes... you have to pay to get tech support (oh, sorry, you *might* be charged a fee to call their support line) on a windows xp machine running itunes (thanks for bundling it with quicktime, nice to always have a choice), using firefox as a default broswer, if you're unwilling to give apple your credit card # to create an account they're nice enough to offer paypal. However it doesn't work (at least under the config mentioned above) it'll link you to your paypal account (it opens firefox), where you agree to let apple deduct whatever they feel like from your paypal (and thusly BANK) account. You sign away all pre-warning, and you agree if they do something naughty to try to make things right via the paypal dispute crap.

    So, sure, I figure I'll only download the one album, then delete the agreement. So I click ok, I hereby sign my soul away. Success! I now have an agreement with apple. But wait, back in the Itunes window I still can't click continue to finish creating my account. Hmmmmm, I must not have done something right, so I then click on authorize paypal account. Again it opens a firefox window, and I again sell my soul. However, the itunes window doesn't change, and my requested ID doesn't work. Hmmmm... I next receive two letters from paypal saying I created a Billing Agreement (which for the record allows apple to deduct up to $5,000 a month from my account!!!)

    So, I then navigate through paypal's setup to cancel the billing agreements. of course the instructions paypal gives are incorrect, so I have to wander through myself.

    End result, apple didn't make any money, I didn't get my album, and I'm now boycotting Itunes.

    Lovely service all in all. After all, it did save me money, and isn't that really what it's all about?

  59. Re:What is this world coming to? by Wilson_6500 · · Score: 1

    Does that make iTunes the "Walmart" of the online music business, only less evil and with naughty words allowed?

  60. Wait Wait Wait! by root-my-box · · Score: 1

    In other news, Jimmy Jippers of Los Angeles, CA, has downloaded the one billionth song from Limewire! Congrats Jimmy, you've won a subpeona!

  61. Re:Tried boycotting it, didn't work. by holysin · · Score: 1

    I did, their response to the bug report was: Thank you for contacting the iTunes Music Store. The iTunes Music Store team answers non-technical questions about billing, customer accounts, downloading music, and iTunes Music Store content. Many questions about your iTunes software can be answered by choosing iTunes and Music Store Help from the Help menu. For online information, visit iTunes Support at http://www.apple.com/support/itunes>. To access the discussion boards for iTunes and other Apple services, please visit http://discussions.info.apple.com/>. For support for your iPod, please visit: http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/> If you require assistance beyond the complimentary support available online, please call AppleCare technical support at 800-APL-CARE (800-275-2273). Help is available seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. central time. There may be a fee associated with the call. Sincerely, iTunes Music Store Support

  62. That's what I do by Dog135 · · Score: 1

    After I download my songs from iTMS, I pop in a CD-RW, quick-format, burn, rip. All the song information is automatically filled in on the MP3, since it was ripped on the same machine that burned it. Seriously, it only adds about 10-15 minutes to the 4+ hours I spend selecting music and downloading it.

    If I was an audiophile, I might be upset about the slight loss in sound quality from a re-rip, but I'm not, so I'm not. Besides, how many audiophiles download lossy music to play on headphones anyways?

    BTW: 50% of the music I got from iTMS is from the Pepsi promo from this last year. Probably why the big boom in sales. (I'm normally a Coke drinker) I sure hope they bring this promo back soon.

    --
    "That's so plausible, I can't believe it!" - Leela
  63. They didn't have mine by Dog135 · · Score: 1

    I didn't enter my billing information until just recently. Are you sure the information was REQUIRED? I remember being asked, but I left it blank.

    --
    "That's so plausible, I can't believe it!" - Leela
  64. And when users realize 128-bit DRM music sucks... by popo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... they'll be able to sell the *same* 500,000,000 songs again to the same users.

    Poor stupid humans.

    --
    ------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
  65. I do by Dog135 · · Score: 1

    Because most of us aren't audiophiles? The quality is more then good enough for me. Most of my songs get re-ripped into MP3s, put on a flash drive, and played on my truck's MP3 player. (broadcast to the FM radio)

    Many other people play theirs on their iPod with the standard headphones.

    Remember: the original walkman, which played tapes, use to be good enough for most people. MP3s are much better then tapes.

    --
    "That's so plausible, I can't believe it!" - Leela
  66. Try this by Dog135 · · Score: 1

    Try this: Signup without giving any CC info. Find the music you like, when you click "buy now" from the shopping cart, it'll ask for your CC info then, and won't store it.

    I did that for a while, but eventually just gave them my CC to store for the convenience.

    --
    "That's so plausible, I can't believe it!" - Leela
    1. Re:Try this by holysin · · Score: 1

      Oddly enough I didn't try that, just did and it looks like they've changed the way you sign up. You must give a valid CC # (test #'s work, but they bitch about an invalid security code.)

  67. Re:Fantastic PR by Xel · · Score: 1
    "Do any other music stores measure performance by the sale of songs? Well, most music stores don't actually sell songs, but do they even care about how many albums they sell?"

    I'll bet that if you looked in some magazines back in the early 80s, when CDs first came out, they most certainly DID pat themselves on the back everytime a milestone was reached for CD sales. Remember: downloadable music is, relatively speaking, a very new and potentially paradigm-shifting innovation.

    "the constant articles about the Virgina Tech cluster"

    Granted, it wasnt earth-shattering news, but still, a supercomputer built from off-the-shelf parts being ranked in the top 5 supercompters of all time is most definitely "News for nerds", if you ask me.

    --
    "Eagles may soar, but weasels dont get sucked into jet engines."
  68. Well... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Theoretically the CD burning ability lets you do both. Though I think the terms you buy it under explicity mention no resale...

    Still, like I said they key to me is the leash from above. If I can keep playing my music without the company existing then I consider it mine - when Napster or Rhapsody go belly-up there will be a mighty wailing and gnashing as people suddenly realize what DRM means.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  69. Prediction? by Where's+My+Shotgun · · Score: 1

    Kudos to this guy.

    http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155180&c id=13009888

    Missed it by a day and a half.