Apple Passes 10 Billion Songs Downloaded on iTunes

Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way” earns customer $10,000 store credit

Apple has passed the 10 billion mark for songs downloaded on iTunes.

What was the song? Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way,” from 1958’s "Songs That Made Him Famous." The lucky downloader was Louie Sulcer, a 71-year-old country music fan from Woodstock, Georgia.

For his historic download, Sulcer got $10,000 in credit from Apple. And a phone call from Steve Jobs.

What does Sulcer plan to spend his Apple bounty on? "I don’t even know what all they have," Sulcer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It’s also worth noting that during a music conference this week, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said this: “Regarding the App Store and the iTunes stores, we are running those a bit over break even and that hasn’t changed.”

Translation: it’s not the downloads that make money – it’s the iPhones and iPods and iTouches and iBooks. And, soon, the iPads.

Guess things happen that way.

More to read:

iPad as Media Savior: What Apple Got Right and Wrong Savior

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