One Million iTunes For Windows Downloads: 14 Million Total Songs Sold

by , 5:30 PM EDT, October 20th, 2003

Apple announced today that more than one million copies of iTunes for Windows have been downloaded in just the first three and a half days of its release. Apple launched the Windows version of iTunes on Thursday to great fanfare. The Windows version of iTunes includes Apple's vaunted iTunes Music Store (iTMS), and represents Apple's first serious attempt to release consumer software in the Windows market since AppleWorks.

The company also announced that some 14 million songs have been downloaded from the iTMS since that services April launch. One million of those downlaods occurred in the same three and a half day period since the Windows release, meaning that Windows buyers accounted for fewer than one million song purchases. It was six weeks ago today that Apple announced the 10 million download mark, and an average of 500,000 songs per week for the iTMS. From Apple:

Apple today announced that Windows users have downloaded more than one million copies of its new iTunes™ for Windows digital jukebox software in just three and a half days since its launch last Thursday, and over one million songs have been purchased and downloaded by iTunes users in the same period.

"iTunes users have purchased over one million songs in the first three and a half days since our launch last Thursday, which compares with one million songs in the first seven days when we introduced the original iTunes for Mac users last April," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We're off to a great start, and our competition isn't even out of the starting gates yet."

The iTunes Music Store has revolutionized the way people legally buy music online. An astounding 14 million songs have been purchased and downloaded since the original iTunes Music Store launch in April, solidifying the iTunes Music Store's position as the number one download music service in the world.

You can find more information on iTunes at Apple's Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

One million songs in the first three and a half days, with, one can surmise, about a quarter of those going to Mac users. That's actually not as good as one might have hoped, and is likely why Apple focused on announcing today's iTunes software downloads. With the installed Windows market being as much as 20 times that of the Mac market, it would have been nice to see Windows iTMS downloads do better than less than twice what Mac users downloaded during the original launch.

Apple has a lot to prove in the Windows market, however, and it can definitely be said that this is a solid start. Perhaps even more so considering that two of those days were weekend days. The battle for Windows mind share will now center on word of mouth, forum posts, reviews, and other forms of press. If it continues to be mostly good, Apple should gain some momentum.