iLounge

“CUPERTINO, California—October 20, 2003—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.’”

“Although Apple Computer launched its iTunes Music Store for Windows amid much fanfare, the company said it doesn’t have any illusions that it can make great profits from selling songs over the Internet.

Instead, Apple is counting on the store as a key part of an overall music business for the company that can produce substantial profits—mainly through sales of its iPod digital music player.

“The iPod makes money. The iTunes Music Store doesn’t,” Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller told CNET News.com in an interview Thursday after the launch of the Windows version of the store. “

“During a slick presentation in downtown San Francisco on Thursday morning, Mick Jagger, Bono and Dr. Dre joined Jobs to endorse a new version of Apple’s iTunes software and music store for the Mac and Windows. [...]

Like the Mac version, iTunes for Windows offers songs a la carte at 99 cents a pop, and albums for $10. Songs can be shared between three computers—any combination of Macs or Windows PCs—and copied ten times to CD or any number of iPods. On the Mac, the service has won praise for its ease of use and liberal usage rights.”

“A MusicMatch spokeswoman said it was unclear how the Windows version of Apple’s online music store would affect its relationship with the Mac maker.

‘We were partners (with Apple) but always expected we would one day be competitors once they launched the iTunes download service,’ a MusicMatch spokeswoman said. ‘MusicMatch jukebox will continue to support iPod, but it’s up to Apple to decide if they’ll ship iPod with MusicMatch jukebox. It’s totally in their hands at this point.’”

“The Mac maker has scheduled an event for next Thursday at San Francisco’s Moscone West convention hall. ‘The year’s biggest music story is about to get even bigger,’ Apple said in an invitation to journalists. 

The company is expected to launch the long-awaited Windows version of the iTunes Music Store at the event, according to Wall Street brokerage Needham. Apple earlier said it would release the Windows service sometime before the end of the year.”

“‘In this case,’ he added, ‘opening the iTunes Music Store up to Windows users simply expands Apple’s market without in any way harming the company’s core business in selling Macs. In fact, it even enhances sales of the iPod, which, while not a core business, shows where Apple is heading.’

Engst said he thinks opening up iTMS to Windows users will significantly increase iTunes downloads. Although download percentages likely will not correspond to OS market share (in other words, Mac users still will make up far more than 3 to 5 percent of all iTMS downloads), he said he believes the number of overall downloads (after an initial burst of enthusiasm by Windows users) will increase between three- and five-fold.”

“‘We’re clearly working on it (but) I think we’ll do it next year,’ he told journalists on the fringes of the annual Apple Expo in Paris. He said it took time to sort out distribution rights with the music publishers who own the songs.

Jobs reiterated that, before the end of the year, Apple would bring iTunes and the online music store which has sold 10 million songs since its launch four months ago, to owners of personal computers that run on Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

‘We’re very much on track to execute iTunes for Windows,’  he said.”