Apple tops 5 billion mark in iTunes sales

When the iTunes Store was first introduced (hey, remember when it was called the iTunes Music Store and all you could buy were DRMed music tracks? Those were the days) I thought people wouldn't spend much money there. Sure, it was pretty and easy to use but people don't want DRM laced music, thought I. Clearly, as with many things in my life, I was totally wrong. Apple just announced that people have downloaded over 5 billion songs from iTunes (notice they say 'downloaded,' and not 'bought.' This number includes all those freebies we list, as well as any promotional freebies Apple hands out with partners). Any way you slice it, that's a lot of songs.

Apple also said that people are renting and downloading over 50,000 movies a day. Not too shabby, given the greater expense and file sizes involved with movie transactions on iTunes.

Thanks, Cameron!