iTunes: Thanks 5 Billion
Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes digital media store has now sold more than 5 billion songs since its 2001 debut. And with downloads of digital movies having reached 50,000 a day, Apple says the service has become the leading purveyor of online music and videos.
What’s more, it’s now the largest music retailer in the states. Which means it’s bested Wal-Mart (WMT) for the top music-retailer spot.
Apple offered up this news with a bit of a reality-distorted caveat, though. The latest NPD Group data on which its claims are based was culled from the research outfit’s MusicWatch survey, which counts one CD as representing 12 tracks.
As of this writing Wal-Mart’s list of 10 top-selling CDs includes many that feature more than 12 tracks–some with more than 20, and one that boasts more than 35.
