Apple sells 25 billionth song at iTunes store

Technology Feb. 07, 2013 - 07:30AM JST ( 17 )

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17 Comments

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Elbuda MexicanoFeb. 07, 2013 - 08:59AM JST

Ah yes! And how many of us have good connections to "other" ways of downloading I Tunes?? But Apple thanks for all of them great tunes!
0

smithinjapanFeb. 07, 2013 - 09:45AM JST

Lucky guy! 10,000 Euros for iTunes is nothing to balk at when your average song is probably 1 Euro and a movie might be about 10. Too bad it wasn't just 10,000 Euros for Apple products in general, but it's a lot more than the guy was probably expecting when he bought "Monkey Drums".
0

MeguromanFeb. 07, 2013 - 09:45AM JST

Strange to still see people here buying CDs. One cool thing here in Japan is that we can rent CDs and then burn to iTunes. A lot cheaper then buying on the Japan-based iTunes. Of course, having a US iTunes account is much better for the range of TV, movies and prices. Though this is becoming less of a bargain with the weakening yen but the selection still rules.
1

ebisenFeb. 07, 2013 - 09:50AM JST

Over the years I managed to collect everything I would ever need. Complete discographies from at least 500 bands, including all the classics (at least 5000 albums). Aaah, the city library and the rent-a-CD places, they ares so well stocked. Well, if I ever need anything I can't find there, torrentz is my friend ;)
4

zichiFeb. 07, 2013 - 10:32AM JST

10,000 euro's is a very nice win and the winner is a German economic student who celebrated with a glass of beer and will buy some tunes for his friends.
4

zichiFeb. 07, 2013 - 10:34AM JST

It can also be used for renting movies, buying apps and software, giving gift coupons.
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OnniyamaFeb. 07, 2013 - 01:11PM JST

So why is their stock in the crapper lately?
-3

LostinNagoyaFeb. 07, 2013 - 01:35PM JST

So why is their stock in the crapper lately? >

Because WS makes a living out of speculations that sometimes reflect a small group of people estimates that are not related to reality at all?
4

zichiFeb. 07, 2013 - 02:20PM JST

So why is their stock in the crapper lately?

Because the stock market is a fickle place often not based on what's actually happening in a company.
-1

Korlacan KhanthavilayFeb. 07, 2013 - 04:08PM JST

Wow, non-news! Why is this stupid crap being announced anyways? Does Sears have a press release when they sold their bajillionth Craftsman tools? Does JC Penney have a press release for selling their 1 jillionth shirt?

I guess Apple is failing so bad, that's about the only thing they can talk about to stay in the news.
0

CarcharodonFeb. 07, 2013 - 08:25PM JST

apple-donalds - 25billion burger songs sold!
4

wipeoutFeb. 07, 2013 - 10:39PM JST

Strange to still see people here buying CDs.

I just picked the first album that came to mind: Blonde on Blonde. On Amazon US, it's $9. On Amazon Japan, it's 832 yen. On iTunes, it's 1500 yen for the album, and individual tracks are all either 150 yen or 200 yen.

Other than the quicker delivery time, I don't see what value Apple is adding that makes it worth paying more for the damn thing on iTunes than for a copy of the CD.
-2

LostinNagoyaFeb. 08, 2013 - 05:48AM JST

Other than the quicker delivery time, I don't see what value Apple is adding that makes it worth paying more for the damn thing on iTunes than for a copy of the CD.

You answered your own question: convenience. First, you don't have to leave home to buy a track you want. Second, it takes seconds to get what you want, instead of days. Third: more often than not, it's very likely that the album that has the track WON'T be found in the local store. Fourth: the local store does not exist anymore.
3

wipeoutFeb. 09, 2013 - 10:54AM JST

You don't have to leave home to order a CD from Amazon either, or from quite a few music stores.

I get the idea that people might pay more for a bit of extra convenience from iTunes, but almost doubling the cost for an electronic download is harder to justify. As another example, I found Bob Dylans "Rare and Unreleased Vol 1-3" for less than 1400 yen on Amazon Japan. The same thing is 4000 yen on iTunes.
1

WillemFeb. 13, 2013 - 04:56AM JST

MeguromanFeb. 07, 2013 - 09:45AM JST

Strange to still see people here buying CDs. One cool thing here in Japan is that we can rent CDs and then burn to iTunes. A lot cheaper then buying on the Japan-based iTunes. Of course, having a US iTunes account is much better for the range of TV, movies and prices. Though this is becoming less of a bargain with the weakening yen but the selection still rules.

Strange???? Of course not. The soundquality of CD's is way better and they are fun to collect. If anything, it's strange so many people use itunes.
1

WillemFeb. 13, 2013 - 05:10AM JST

You answered your own question: convenience. First, you don't have to leave home to buy a track you want. Second, it takes seconds to get what you want, instead of days. Third: more often than not, it's very likely that the album that has the track WON'T be found in the local store. Fourth: the local store does not exist anymore.

Sorry, but your first, third and fourth point are invalid. Try an online shop like, cdjapan, yesasia, amazon, bol.com, whatever.
0

wipeoutFeb. 14, 2013 - 09:22PM JST

And the second point is stretching the truth too. If you want a single track, it might take seconds, assuming all's working as it should.

If you care enough about quality, it'll have to be lossless, which increases the file size. Not much of an issue with a single track, perhaps, but it starts to mount up when you buy an album, which even using compression (lossless) will be well in excess of 100 MB, as a CD can hold up to 600 MB of data. (Example, picking the first album I can find in FLAC format on my hard drive, it's 415 MB.)

Buying albums often makes a lot more sense than buying individual tracks, because so much music was conceived, written and recorded that way: pop and rock from about 1966, jazz from about 10 years earlier than that, and classical music, which was often focused on longer forms in the first place: a symphony being typically 20 minutes to more than an hour long, and operas and choral works often running far longer. Itunes of course rides rough$hod over this. You can even buy 45 seconds of recitative from The Marriage of Figaro if that's what you want (yours for 150 yen).

Anyway, this idea that you can "have it in seconds" is balls. If you were to do something that is still fairly normal for people who are into music - buying a bunch of albums in one go - you'd be downloading gigabytes. To take it a step further, lately, with the lower prices of CDs, some very sprawling boxed sets have been released: complete works by the major composers (Mozart, 170 CDs, 30,000 yen), and there was a 70 CD set of Miles Davis albums. Predictably enough, these sets aren't even available on iTunes.