In the next few days, iTunes will reach 10 billion song downloads. That's ten billion with a b. A one followed by TEN zeroes. That's a song for every person on the planet, plus an extra 3,300,000,000 songs left over. To mark the occasion, iTunes is giving a $10,000 iTunes giftcard to the lucky downloader of the 10 billionth track.
We have a winner! Apple announced on Thursday that (a 71-year-old retired real estate broker) Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Ga., clicked the “Buy” button at an opportune time, downloading the 10 billionth song from the company’s iTunes Store since the site went active in April 2003. The fortuitous purchase makes Mr. Sulcer the winner of the iTunes Countdown to 10 Billion Songs, and he’ll receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card. The song? Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way.”