McDonalds to give away 1 Billion iTunes songs

[lyonsden]

Just saw this when looking at the stock quotes for Apple (and others)

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031106/bw_leisure_mcdonalds_downloads_1.html

http://www.nypost.com/business/10067.htm

McDonalds is going to do an iTunes promotion and give away 1 Billion (that's Billion with a 'B') iTunes songs.

The short article also says that Pepsi and McDonalds are paying the full .99 retail price to Apple for these promotions.

[edit: added nypost link]

[robbieduncan]

Wow. That's insane. 1 billion tracks? How many people in the US have a computer connected to the Net (and fast enough to make it worth downloading a few Mb of data for a song). 1 billion sounds like enough for everyone to get at least 1 track!

[rainman::|:|]

there are far less than a billion people in the US. more like 250-300 million, i don't remember exactly. take the fraction that are active computer/music users, who have iTunes, and that's quite a few songs per person. unfortunately, i'm guessing a huge percentage will be given to people that will never use them... i wonder if McD will pay for the actual number of songs downloaded?

pnw

[Squire]

That's crazy. I wonder how they'll go about the giveaway part. Would they give coupons to customers? No, then they'd have to pay for all of the tunes no matter what. Hmmm...

Squire

[ckwm]

Got to be a good thing though, even if just to get people downloading iTunes. With Pepsi and MacD into the iTunes store it looks as if it is fast becoming the standard.

[jrv3034]

Weird... McDonalds has always been a Coca Cola sponsor. I wonder how they feel being promotional partners with Pepsi...

Anyways, this can only be a good thing for Apple. Yay.:p

[FelixDerKater]

I'm sure they'll end up only paying for the amount of songs actually downloaded. Many of them will go undownloaded. Who knows... It will probably be a coupon or something attached to the drinks or french fry cartons.

[jamesatzones]

Looks like I will be eating some Micky Deee's in the future...

[chibianh]

that's great! now the question is... do i have to supersize my meal to get the free music?

[drastik]

holy crap, that's one big revenue stream for Apple and the lables. To bad I don't eat fast-food garbage anymore

[machan]

this is totally insane. 1 billion!?!?! i hate mcdonald's, but i'm glad apple got a billion dollars out of the deal.

[scem0]

This will be very good for apple....

Apple needs to attract younger people. Im gunna eat at mcdonalds more :D.

scem0

[Mr. Anderson]

1 billion bigmacs to go :D

I don't eat there, so I lose. Ugh! What to do, what to do.....maybe some late night dumpster diving an get all the one thrown away ;)

D

[Jerry Spoon]

I hope weight watchers starts giving away free songs on itms after the mcdonalds promotion because I'm going to need it.

[machinehien]

Sound's good for apple. Not too sure about how it positions the brand though. Pepsi was a little of a stretch but there was history there. McDonalds though? Not too sure if I am loving it.

But hey, a billion dollars is a billion dollars.

[matthew_goldin]

I thought it was Pepsi who was doing that.

[mkaake]

holy crap.

that's all i have to say.

matt

[Squire]

I can understand why this got moved to the Front Page. What exposure! Is Apple going to be doing the majority of the advertising or will Rotten Ron's take care of it?

I thought iTMS only had, like, 400,000 songs! ;)

Sorry. Weak.

Squire

[bipto]

Usually, promotions like this one that can cost a whole lotta money are insured against the entire amount coming in. McDonald's technically isn't paying anything for the songs, they're paying an insurance company who will end up paying Apple when it's all said and done.

That's how is usually works, anyway...

[LethalWolfe]

Holy mother of promotional deals Batman!:eek:


Lethal

[maxtrax]

I read that both Pepsi and McD's are paying the actual 99 cents per downloaded song. So all this promo costs Apple nothing and they sell millions of songs? How does this work, anyone know?

[the_mole1314]

I think this will be the whole peal off tag and find code thing like the monopoly game.

[Malic]

Before iTMS, it was pre-relaunch Napster (prNapster?). All the talk was about "This shouldn't be piracy but form of guerilla advertising".

Now it comes full circle, the dream is realized; Music is something YOU GIVE AWAY AS AN ENTICEMENT TO BUY SOMETHING ELSE! In the prNapster days, music was an unofficial enticement to buy broadband. Now, it's potentially MUCH more.

It's so funny to picture a near-future in which record labels sign BIG contracts to give away product - willingly.

[Trimix]

it shows how much SJ is so much ahead of - urrrggh buymusic.com and others - there i said it - it is not even funny anymore.
good for apple, good for consumers, good for mcd, bad for your waistline

[Sailfish]

Add all the local McDonalds to my iTunes begging route.

"Spare 'tunes anyone?"

[stoid]

Giving away free music is a great way for a company to look good both in the eyes of the general public, those getting the music, but also the legal people. If a company spends millions of dollars for a legal cause that would solve SO many problems in society, they certainly have a positive stepping stone just in case the books get a little fuzzy.

[chibianh]

Originally posted by Sailfish
Add all the local McDonalds to my iTunes begging route.

"Spare 'tunes anyone?"

that is a GREAT idea!! just stay out of my territory now :P

[CTYankee]

What if, though....

The 1 billion songs are not codes for a free download. Rather they are specific songs. I can see McD's making deals with labels to promote their new artists. McD's gives away these songs and the record label foots the bill?

Just thinking out loud.

[Mr.Hey]

Originally posted by mkaake
holy crap.


matt


I'll second this.


WOW>; I still can't believe this promotion campaign Apple has designed to sell music. Bill Gates has nothing on Steve Jobs aka the Dalai Lama of Integration. :D

[jeremy.king]

From the post article:
But because not all customers will take advantage of the offer, McDonald's actual spending on the campaign will probably be in the hundreds of millions of dollars

Seems they will only be paying for downloaded songs...

Also, the article mentions that they will "buy up to a billion based on customer demand."

Seems a billion is the cap or max, but in reality like others mentioned before only those tech savvy people with iTunes will take advantage.

I like getting fat if I can get my tunes for free.

Hopefully they wont put it on their crap sandwiches and sides.

[Macco]

So, how many of those billion songs will be Britney Spears? :D

[Lancetx]

This is genius if it actually happens. Steve Jobs floods the market with 1.1 billion free AAC song files thanks to the McDonalds and Pepsi promos, and that pretty much does his work for him in the AAC vs WMA format war. Kind of a unique way of beating Bill Gates at his own game. There will be companies lined up around the block to license AAC/Fairplay for their players too if this all goes through.

[flyfish29]

Originally posted by jrv3034
Weird... McDonalds has always been a Coca Cola sponsor. I wonder how they feel being promotional partners with Pepsi...

Anyways, this can only be a good thing for Apple. Yay.:p

I don't think there is any connection between Pepsi and Mc D's. It is no different than Taco Bell giving away iMacs along with Burger King doing the same in a promotion a few years back. Just giving away the same product.

I would imagine McD's would do it like their monopoly game...attached to food containers. They would have codes that activate the purchase of iTunes songs...probably in increments of different amounts...1 song...10..100...etc. for grand prizes with iPods, iMacs, etc. That would be ideal. I would imagine that the once the code is activated McD's would then have to pay for that song...so saying it is a billion dollars for apple in revenue would be false because in reality probably only 40% of the winners would ever get around to it...lost cards...no access...no desire, etc. Especially since it would take downloading itunes more most people and all for one song??? Great promotion though if it is something like this!

[network23]

This is great! I could really use a billion free songs!

[kryten2000]

Between Pepsi and McDonalds giving away tunes,we are all gonna put on some serious weight

[the_mole1314]

Incase anyone is wondering when it will be announced, I'm guessing around Thanksgiving for launch.

[Dippo]

Originally posted by Malic
Now it comes full circle, the dream is realized; Music is something YOU GIVE AWAY AS AN ENTICEMENT TO BUY SOMETHING ELSE!

It's so funny to picture a near-future in which record labels sign BIG contracts to give away product - willingly.

Technically, McDonalds would be buying songs and then gving them away. Of course if you buy songs and give them away, then you are doing something illegal. Funny huh?

[greenstork]

Originally posted by Dippo
Technically, McDonalds would be buying songs and then gving them away. Of course if you buy songs and give them away, then you are doing something illegal. Funny huh?

LMAO, too funny :D

[Steamboatwillie]

Does this mean that Hamburgler can no longer use Kaaza?

:p

[nebben123]

**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

[wPod]

can they really hand out that many free songs? or will the price of value meals just get jacked up so you end up paying for the song anyway? are the give aways going to be free choice of song or are you going to be given 500 milling Britney and 500 mill n'sink songs so the little pop-teens will want to start downloading?

if they really are downloads of any song of choice, then i will start the iTunes black market. Ill walk into McD. . . walk up to customers offer $.25 per little peal off (which many unknowing non-techies will gladly accept for a little scrap of paper pealed from their drink) then go sell it to true iTunes users for $.50 a pop. that way the true iTunes users don't have to suffer through a fattening meal and end up only paying half price for the beloved iTunes.

there must be some restriction or catch. . . what is it?

[Dippo]

Maybe they will do something like the Monopoly game.

Also, wouldn't it be great if they also gave away iPods and maybe even Macs. I could see this happening, at least the iPods anyways. (1 in 10,000 wins an 40Gig iPod...now that would get me eating McD's 3 times a day)

[bipto]

Originally posted by CTYankee
What if, though....

The 1 billion songs are not codes for a free download. Rather they are specific songs. I can see McD's making deals with labels to promote their new artists. McD's gives away these songs and the record label foots the bill?

Just thinking out loud.

Oh, now that's a scary thought! http://www.bigfootforums.com/html//emoticons/new_weirdsmiley.gif

[Tulse]

**** the vegans, huh Steve?

Hah! I hadn't thought of that, but you're right -- this deal rather clashes with Steve's personal dietary beliefs. Maybe he only agreed because McD's now has a veggie burger.

[Steamboatwillie]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

Easy there bud, no one is *making* you eat the meat products. They have some kinda' McSalad thingy too.

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by jrv3034
Weird... McDonalds has always been a Coca Cola sponsor. I wonder how they feel being promotional partners with Pepsi...

Anyways, this can only be a good thing for Apple. Yay.:p

Yeah, I used to work for a Burger King, they signed an agreement with Coca-Cola that said they can only market things that Coca-Cola approves. I wonder if McDonalds is the same, and if this really plays out.

[greenstork]

Originally posted by wPod
[B]. . . walk up to customers offer $.25 per little peal off (which many unknowing non-techies will gladly accept for a little scrap of paper pealed from their drink) then go sell it to true iTunes users for $.50 a pop. that way the true iTunes users don't have to suffer through a fattening meal and end up only paying half price for the beloved iTunes.

/B]

Like someone's going to give you their little peel off for $.25. People think they're going to win a million dollars, do you honestly think they'd sell that chance for a quarter?

[gabriel_knight]

haha, i KNEW IT :D

Last week I have Design Management lecture which took Mcdonald new commercial campign as the example; The lecture was talking about brand;

According to the press release of new Mcdonald, one of the thing is that they were trying music approach;

So when I doing the assignment, it ask me to create a tie-in commercial for Mcdonlad, i immeaitely think of Mcdonald and iTunes music store that buy meal and get one song free!

hahhahaha :D

[lduncan]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

There's always one :rolleyes:

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by stoid
If a company spends millions of dollars for a legal cause that would solve SO many problems in society, they certainly have a positive stepping stone just in case the books get a little fuzzy.

Here's hoping that Steve Jobs isn't stupid enough to go down that road. Apple is no Enron, I pray.

[SiliconAddict]

1,100,000,000 tunes being given away.
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/images/smiles/jawdrop.gif

Holy freaking @$#(*!!! :eek: That alone will generate more buzz around iTunes then Napster or any of iTMS's competition could hope to generate.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/images/smiles/headbang.gif

[Mr. G4]

It's 2 diferrent and separate promotions.


Originally posted by jrv3034
Weird... McDonalds has always been a Coca Cola sponsor. I wonder how they feel being promotional partners with Pepsi...

Anyways, this can only be a good thing for Apple. Yay.:p

[penguin]

So how long will it take for someone to hack the promotion code system and generate 400,000 free codes for themselves and download the ENTIRE iTMS library. Then they could rerip the songs into MP3 and bam. The entire library is on the net.

PS. No way it will happen before the Pepsi promo. Probably next summer.

[srobert]

The question is:

Will you be winning a SONG or a DOWNLOAD from iTMS.

What I mean is: Will you win a specific song? i.e.: "Dang! that's the third crappy Avril Lavigne song I won this week". Or will you win a $.99 download of your choice?

and also...

How long before Burger King gives away a billion song from Napster's music store? ^_^

[simply258]

Originally posted by gabriel_knight
haha, i KNEW IT :D

Last week I have Design Management lecture which took Mcdonald new commercial campign as the example; The lecture was talking about brand;

According to the press release of new Mcdonald, one of the thing is that they were trying music approach;

So when I doing the assignment, it ask me to create a tie-in commercial for Mcdonlad, i immeaitely think of Mcdonald and iTunes music store that buy meal and get one song free!

hahhahaha :D
they stole your idea!!! :eek:

[restiffbard]

for those wondering how this would work if it happens.

most likely there would be a peel off deal on large and supersize items and on hashbrowns.

I'd bet the promotion would only last for about a month.

Also, some of you keep wondering how 1 billion songs will get spread amongst a population of only 300 million US. You seem to forget that the latest projection for a European iTMS is May 2004. I think Europe is about a quarter billion people.

[sososowhat]

Is nobody else skeptical about this? It could be true, but it sounds pretty unlikely to me. I read it as a rumor published by an online newspaper as a scoop.

a) I'm not that familiar with The NY Post, but my guess is that it is hardly the WSJ or NYT which are held to a higher standard for accuracy. Does anyone in NY know if this was also the headline of their Print edition?

b) The article itself isn't that well written. For instance, they call this "a ringing endorsement for the beleaguered music industry". How, exactly? No one's doubting that people listen to music. It would be a coup for Apple, not for the music industry.

c) They say that both Pepsi is paying Apple the retail price of 99 cents. Have we had this confirmed before? There's no way (none!) that Apple's getting that kind of free ride. Either Apple's contributing to the advertising budget, or chipping on on the songs. I don't recall hearing before any news about what Apple's paying or getting paid for this.

d) They assert that "pending on the campaign will probably be in the hundreds of millions of dollars." Assuming that means 200 or more, it implies 20%+ actually used, which, in my unscientific opinion is way more than would actually be cashed in.

e) It would certainly seem to steal the thunder from the Pepsi deal. I can't believe that Pepsi would stand for this (or that their contract would Apple would allow it).

[Lancetx]

[i]Also, some of you keep wondering how 1 billion songs will get spread amongst a population of only 300 million US. You seem to forget that the latest projection for a European iTMS is May 2004. I think Europe is about a quarter billion people. [/B]

Plus I'm sure these giveaways will be in the form of a redemption code. The iTMS gift certificates can be used in Canada and Europe right now and the same would be true for these giveaways I'm sure, although I'm sure they wouldn't promote that fact before the "official release" of iTMS outside of the United States of course.

[MongoTheGeek]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

Some McDonald's sell and have sold vegetarian burgers which are actually quite tasty.

They have also taken all of the yummy tallow out of the fries.

[macguymike]

Originally posted by lduncan
There's always one :rolleyes:

Besides.. McD's has veggie burgers now, don't they?

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by restiffbard
for those wondering how this would work if it happens.

most likely there would be a peel off deal on large and supersize items and on hashbrowns.


I wonder if they'll give away one song per meal, or more. Getting 5 free songs would be far more incentive to actually use the vouchers than just one.



Also, some of you keep wondering how 1 billion songs will get spread amongst a population of only 300 million US. You seem to forget that the latest projection for a European iTMS is May 2004. I think Europe is about a quarter billion people.

If you mean the EU, it should be well over half a billion by the middle of next year.

Mike.

[SiliconAddict]

Originally posted by penguin
So how long will it take for someone to hack the promotion code system and generate 400,000 free codes for themselves and download the ENTIRE iTMS library. Then they could rerip the songs into MP3 and bam. The entire library is on the net.

PS. No way it will happen before the Pepsi promo. Probably next summer.

Considering you need a certain level of authentication on iTMS, and you can bet your *** they track IP's I see it as being unlikely. Apple would see that someone was downloading several hundred songs a hour and would look into it. Once they notice some funky things going on they'd most likely kill or suspend the account and possibly ban the IP. You can bet a years salary Apple will to go apocalyptic with their lawyers on anyone trying to mess with iTMS at this point. Ever see an animal defend its young? Don’t mess with Apple at this point. Jobs will probably personally bite off your kneecaps.

[Dippo]

Originally posted by penguin
So how long will it take for someone to hack the promotion code system and generate 400,000 free codes for themselves and download the ENTIRE iTMS library. Then they could rerip the songs into MP3 and bam. The entire library is on the net.

PS. No way it will happen before the Pepsi promo. Probably next summer.

Well, I don't think that anyone has hacked the current BestBuy bucks for the Monopoly game, and they are a dollar each.

So, I don't think any would be able to hack before the promotion ended.

It's a 16 digit hexidecimal code.
That's 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 different combinations.

EDIT: So with random guessing you would have a 1 in 18,446,744,073 chance of guessing a correct code.

[greenstork]

Originally posted by sososowhat
Is nobody else skeptical about this? It could be true, but it sounds pretty unlikely to me. I read it as a rumor published by an online newspaper as a scoop.

a) I'm not that familiar with The NY Post, but my guess is that it is hardly the WSJ or NYT which are held to a higher standard for accuracy. Does anyone in NY know if this was also the headline of their Print edition?

b) The article itself isn't that well written. For instance, they call this "a ringing endorsement for the beleaguered music industry". How, exactly? No one's doubting that people listen to music. It would be a coup for Apple, not for the music industry.

c) They say that both Pepsi is paying Apple the retail price of 99 cents. Have we had this confirmed before? There's no way (none!) that Apple's getting that kind of free ride. Either Apple's contributing to the advertising budget, or chipping on on the songs. I don't recall hearing before any news about what Apple's paying or getting paid for this.

d) They assert that "pending on the campaign will probably be in the hundreds of millions of dollars." Assuming that means 200 or more, it implies 20%+ actually used, which, in my unscientific opinion is way more than would actually be cashed in.

e) It would certainly seem to steal the thunder from the Pepsi deal. I can't believe that Pepsi would stand for this (or that their contract would Apple would allow it).

Reuters also picked up the article. They are not known to carry stories based on here-say.

[=pa=]

Hmm. Not sure this is a great image builder for Apple. And where did McDonald's find the cash for anything approaching a promotion of this size? Last time I looked, they were closing hundreds of stores! BTW, I'm not sure that Apple makes anything at all off the sales on iTunes - it may even cost them a penny a song or something. After all, without the tunes and the DL rights, they're beached.

[silvergunuk]

They could call it the Big Mac Mcluster offer.

Does that also mean I can download a free album if I buy a family meal?

[billyboy]

Dudes, what makes you think it´s a deal for the States? MacDonalds is quite big in Europe too, old chap! iTMS for Europe launch, not stepping on Pepsi toes with a promo involving a pro Coca Cola company... and Steve wouldnt lie would he about his tactics for 100 million sales for Year 1? Year 2 targets might be 1 billion sales starting with Europe blast off in April 2004

[SiliconAddict]

Originally posted by =pa=
Hmm. Not sure this is a great image builder for Apple. And where did McDonald's find the cash for anything approaching a promotion of this size? Last time I looked, they were closing hundreds of stores! BTW, I'm not sure that Apple makes anything at all off the sales on iTunes - it may even cost them a penny a song or something. After all, without the tunes and the DL rights, they're beached.

I thought it was like something around 30 cents per song they made off of iTMS?

Why wouldn't this be a great image builder?!?!?! :confused:

We are talking 1 BILLION songs in the hands of the consumers. Get em hooked and reel em in. If nothing else you can bet that no other music store is going to have a promo of this scope. This is nothing but good news for apple and iTMS.

[Wonder Boy]

I was at McD's last friday, and as i was perusing the menu, i noticed the figures that were holding up apple pies and milkshakes in the background of the menus. they looked just like ipod silouetes. it all makes perfect sense now! i though McD was ripping apple off. i guess i was wrong.

[DTphonehome]

Dammit! How is a kosher guy like me supposed to get my hands on free iTunes?? The only kosher McD's are in Israel, and I doubt they'd be part of the promotion!

[JohnGillilan]

Make it Bacon.

[the_mole1314]

QUIT YOUR WHINING PEOPLE! I mean dear god, does Apple need to get an advertisitng campaing for every company that fits your unique lifestyle? I mean, sure, McDonalds isn't *great*, but it's not awful. If it's not kosher, vegitarian, or whatever, you still have the drinks and you could even get your friends to get something and give it to you!

[geerlingguy]

It's great that Apple will be getting many more users through Pepsi and McDonald's, but the problem is that I cannot eat any of the foods at Mickey D's or drink anything but Minute Maid Lemonade or Lipton Teas from Pepsi because I have Crohn's!

Maybe Apple will start doing a promo with Ensure or Myoplex or something like that... :D then I could get some free music!

[srobert]

Originally posted by DTphonehome
Dammit! How is a kosher guy like me supposed to get my hands on free iTunes?? The only kosher McD's are in Israel, and I doubt they'd be part of the promotion!

Buy me lunch, and I'll give you half of my songs.

;-)

[SilentPanda]

Originally posted by Dippo
It's a 16 digit hexidecimal code.
That's 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 different combinations.

EDIT: So with random guessing you would have a 1 in 18,446,744,073 chance of guessing a correct code.

Just being picky (and possibly wrong) but wouldn't they have an X in 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 chance where X is the number of codes available?

[SiliconAddict]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

:rolleyes:
Who gives a **** what they sell. If it’s roasted terrier on a hotdog bun served with a side of frozen cat nads (Sorry just watched Temple of doom last night.) who cares!??! This is a business for god sake. Apple and more importantly Jobs needs to put his personal grudges aside and focus on kicking the crap out of Napster and the like and it looks like that is exactly what he’s done.
He wants to preach veganism (Most likely not a word but I’m lazy to look up the correct word.) fine. Do it on his own time and his own buck. Using Apple as a staging grounds for pushing one’s personal lifestyle is stupid in the extreme.

[Foxer]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

I'm sure that that was Apple's hidden agenda. "Too many damn vegans are buying music at iTunes. We must be skewing to that demo. How can we get more normal people involved in iTunes? Ummmm,... McDonalds giveway! Run with it!"

Don't be so petty. Buy a McSalad shaker or whatever that thing is called.

Great opportunity to raise awareness and sell some iPods.

[SiliconAddict]

Originally posted by DTphonehome
Dammit! How is a kosher guy like me supposed to get my hands on free iTunes?? The only kosher McD's are in Israel, and I doubt they'd be part of the promotion!

Sorry I guess I don't understand kosher and how it works. Aren't salads kosher? :confused: I thought kosher was how an animal is slaughtered and prepared in a specific manner?

[Steamboatwillie]

Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Sorry I guess I don't understand kosher and how it works. Aren't salads kosher? :confused: I thought kosher was how an animal is slaughtered and prepared in a specific manner?

When I used to work at an Ice Cream manufacturer occasionally a Rabi would come in and inspect the plant in general to *certify* our product as being kosher. No meat what-so-ever in any of the ice cream we made!

[Jerry Spoon]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

They've got salads! and the fries aren't cooked in beef fat anymore! Progress!

[DTphonehome]

Originally posted by the_mole1314
QUIT YOUR WHINING PEOPLE! I mean dear god, does Apple need to get an advertisitng campaing for every company that fits your unique lifestyle? I mean, sure, McDonalds isn't *great*, but it's not awful. If it's not kosher, vegitarian, or whatever, you still have the drinks and you could even get your friends to get something and give it to you!

I'm not complaining...believe me, the few free tunes means very little to me, and I sacrifice a lot more than that for my kosher lifestyle. It's just frustrating to see it and not be able to be a part of it.

[nickysfuture]

This is a good thing for Apple - it looks like they're getting free promotion and several hundred million dollars out of the deal. So yay Apple!
Boo for me since I'm a vegan (I'll never step foot in a McDonalds, even if they do accidentally offer some crappy food that happens not to include animal bits). But I'm fine with it - it's not like any of my money is going to McDonalds - their money is going to end up in R&D for Apple. Besides, I'd still argue that it's worth 99 cents to buy a song and not have to eat fast food!

[Blaaze]

holy **** that's a lot.

[srobert]

Originally posted by Steamboatwillie
When I used to work at an Ice Cream manufacturer occasionally a Rabi would come in and inspect the plant in general to *certify* our product as being kosher. No meat what-so-ever in any of the ice cream we made!

No meat in your icecream! What a shame! Nothing beats the sweet taste of a meatloaf and t-bones icecream sundae.

[TMay]

At some point, an iTune will begin to have a value much like any traded commodity. And I imagine that there will be a lot of trading with both the Pepsi and McDonald's deals. So, what is the street price of an iTune, and when will we read in the WSJ that China and OPEC are converting all of their dollar holdings to the iTune?

[Gimzotoy]

Originally posted by SilentPanda
Just being picky (and possibly wrong) but wouldn't they have an X in 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 chance where X is the number of codes available?

Well, with X being 1,000,000,000... Divide both of those sides by a billion and what do you get? Looks familiar, probably...

[itboy2000]

Well, I have to say, this doesn't fill me with happiness. Don't get me wrong, I like to see Apple do well, but this stinks. I hope it never comes to fruition

MaccyD's is a truly unpleasant company. From their lousy, health service straining food to their appalling record on worker's rights and environmental destruction, this is not a good bit of brand positioning, though the rest of you don't seem to care much.

A few links to have a look at:

http://www.mcspotlight.org/
http://www.corpwatch.org/bulletins/PBD.jsp?articleid=4389
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uczxcia/ecoguide/boycotts/macdon.htm

Apple and McDonalds, some companies have no class...

[foofan]

2004 will be the year of iTunes. It will be the year Apple again rocks the world, starting at the Super Bowl.

[DTphonehome]

Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Sorry I guess I don't understand kosher and how it works. Aren't salads kosher? :confused: I thought kosher was how an animal is slaughtered and prepared in a specific manner?

Sorry for taking us off topic, but...

You're right, yes, to a point. Fruits and vegetables are all kosher. It's pretty complex, but the issue with McD's salads (or salads at any non-kosher establishment) is that they are usually cut up with the same utensils that are used to cut up the non-kosher meat (which renders the salad non-kosher). And unless we know for a fact that it ISN'T cut with the same utensils, we have to assume that it is. So, McD's salads are out.

I definitely think this is a great promotion, and I don't feel insulted that I've been left out...it's just annoying to not be able to get my hands on some free music! And when I was younger, it was equally annoying to not get those AWESOME happy meals toys I saw advertised on TV. Oh well....that's the price you pay...

--DT

[Jerry Spoon]

Originally posted by Steamboatwillie
When I used to work at an Ice Cream manufacturer occasionally a Rabi would come in and inspect the plant in general to *certify* our product as being kosher. No meat what-so-ever in any of the ice cream we made!

Guesss your manufacturer isn't where I buy my Pralines and Bacon, Rutti Tootie Crunchy and Chewey. I love that stuff:D

[Bunzi2k4]

too true, i don't like Mcdonalds too much, but if i can get a free itunes song, i just might go there and get something to eat...

[the_mole1314]

I too don't think that McDs is the best place (I'd rather have Wendies), but it's still a give-a-way.

[iLilana]

I'm guessing that its a free album or 10 songs per prize. Giving people the opportunity to try it out.

I hope its in canada too. PLease iTunes Canada PLEEEZE!

[zebs1972]

Originally posted by the_mole1314
QUIT YOUR WHINING PEOPLE! I mean dear god, does Apple need to get an advertisitng campaing for every company that fits your unique lifestyle? I mean, sure, McDonalds isn't *great*, but it's not awful. If it's not kosher, vegitarian, or whatever, you still have the drinks and you could even get your friends to get something and give it to you!

I agree, when Apple first announced that they were running a promo with Pepsi alot of you guys moaned about it not being Coca Cola. This promo is all about business, and it has to beneficial to both parties. Yes Coca Cola has a bigger share of the market then Pepsi, yes Burger King has a bigger share of the market then McDonalds, and yes Windows has a bigger share of the market then Apple, do you see the connection? A promotion liks this will help boost the profile of Pepsi's brand, Macdonalds and of course Apple and iTMS/iPod's. All we need now is for Apple to work on a joint venture with Amazon to buy out audible.com and stick a audio book store directly into iTunes too.

[Chooser]

'No Coke!...Pepsi!'

[zebra451]

Why couldn't Subway and Perrier get into this deal instead of McDonald's and Pepsi? I'll probably be 20 lbs. heavier when the promotions are over.

[cubist]

Originally posted by srobert
... What I mean is: Will you win a specific song? i.e.: "Dang! that's the third crappy Avril Lavigne song I won this week". ...

Ha! That's great! All the songs you win are Ronald and Hamburglar doing songs about McDonald's food!

Personally, I don't believe it. The NY Post is a tabloid, with little more credibility than the National Enquirer.

[crees!]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
1 billion bigmacs to go :D

I don't eat there, so I lose. Ugh! What to do, what to do.....maybe some late night dumpster diving an get all the one thrown away ;)

D

LOL.. that was awesome. I agree, I don't eat fast food anymore. Maybe getting hired at McD's and walking out with a box or two of fry and drink containers!

[MongoTheGeek]

Originally posted by geerlingguy
It's great that Apple will be getting many more users through Pepsi and McDonald's, but the problem is that I cannot eat any of the foods at Mickey D's or drink anything but Minute Maid Lemonade or Lipton Teas from Pepsi because I have Crohn's!

Maybe Apple will start doing a promo with Ensure or Myoplex or something like that... :D then I could get some free music!

And throw in an iPod with my Zofran...

:D

Real glad not to need that anymore.

[wPod]

Maybe it is because I am from the SOUTH, but, I like meat. For all you vegaans out there (I do not want to offend anyone so read on after I make this comment) humans are natural carnivores, there is nothing wrong with meat! BUT the modern ways we proccess and produce meat is pretty ********** nasty. So, if you really dont eat me (for religious or personal reasons) do what I suggested earlier and go buy the little pieces off of someone after they realize they are not a grand prize winner. you pay $.25 for a song rather than $.99 it would be worth it to me!!

i am still suspicious there is a catch. . .you get a free Britney album, or can only chose from the McD pick-of-the-day

*edit* OR if you dont want to spend ANY money, im sure you could go dumpster diving. . . but then you might have to touch meat!!!

[Frobozz]

This is such good news. Apple will have immense mindshare, which will ultimately translate to marketshare.

I know a lot of people who are buying Macs now that they had a chance to use iTunes, and have tried Macs with Panther running. It has all the nice polishing needed to convery the masses.

[Dippo]

Originally posted by zebs1972
yes Burger King has a bigger share of the market then McDonalds

Sorry to burst your bubble. but Burger King is no where close to being as big as McDonald's. I think it goes: 1) McDonalds 2) Subway 3) Wendy's ...etc Burker King is somewhere down the line.

[jettredmont]

Originally posted by lyonsden
McDonalds is going to do an iTunes promotion and give away 1 Billion (that's Billion with a 'B') iTunes songs.



Wow ... a heck of a lot better for me than the $1 Best Buy gift cards they've been giving away ...

I suspect that the $1B will be divided into 1-song, 5-song and 10-song winners, plus maybe a few 10,000 "fill your iPod" grand prize winners ...

That's what they've been doing with Best Buy/Monopoly ...


Hey, ya have kids, ya know the McDonalds promos left and right ... :)

[Dippo]

HERE IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THE FREE SONGS

Get a job at McDonald's when the promotion starts. Peel off as many free songs as you can (hopefully a couple 1000) and take them home.

You probably can do this all in one day, and then quit (or get fired)

[Foxer]

Originally posted by itboy2000
this is not a good bit of brand positioning, though the rest of you don't seem to care much.

You're right, I don't.

[ipiloot]

Originally posted by robbieduncan
Wow. That's insane. 1 billion tracks? How many people in the US have a computer connected to the Net (and fast enough to make it worth downloading a few Mb of data for a song). 1 billion sounds like enough for everyone to get at least 1 track!

Hei! Who mentioned, that the campaign is US only? With gift certificate one can get the song anywhere in the world. So I think that the campaign of this Incredisize is going to be worldwide.

[Foxer]

Originally posted by zebs1972
Burger King has a bigger share of the market then McDonalds

What are you smoking and where can I get some?

[itboy2000]

Originally posted by Foxer
You're right, I don't.

Why not, I wonder?

[neilw]

McDonald's doesn't use beef fat in their fries anymore, but, regrettably, they still do use "beef flavoring":

link (http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/food/nutrition/menuitems/display/index.jsp/itemID=6050)

More on-topic, I think this is a great promotion for Apple in that it helps cement the ITMS in people's heads as *the* online music store. Should be great for awareness. I'd be surprised if this generated as many as 100 million actual downloads, but a lot of those songs may go to those that otherwise hadn't tried iTunes yet, which would be a great thing for Apple.

Also, I don't think they'll be giving out specific songs, because that would imply a promotion in concert with the record companies, which is not hinted at in this story.

[rjstanford]

Originally posted by Dippo
Sorry to burst your bubble. but Burger King is no where close to being as big as McDonald's. I think it goes: 1) McDonalds 2) Subway 3) Wendy's ...etc Burker King is somewhere down the line. Actually, there are more Subway stores than McDonalds. Go Jared!

-Richard

[Dippo]

I wonder if they will also be giving out iTunes (as in CDs). I am sure there are people that rather have it on CD than download it.

[ITR 81]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3768343

Whatever happens this means most folks will download iTunes just so they can get free songs..and probably will mean selling of more iPods not to mention Macs.

Apple will become new household name for families to talk about. "Hey mom can you buy me something from Micky D's I want some more music to download."

[lyonsden]

Originally posted by zebs1972
All we need now is for Apple to work on a joint venture with Amazon to buy out audible.com and stick a audio book store directly into iTunes too.

Actually, they already have that - there is an Audio Book section in the iTunes Music Store.

BTW - am I the only one who wishes that you could search the iTunes Music store catalog from a regular browser? I'm on a computer that I have no hope of installilng iTunes on but I'm constantly being asked by co-workers 'Do they have such-and-such a song?' with no way of looking it up. Maybe it's just me.

[arn]

Originally posted by lyonsden
BTW - am I the only one who wishes that you could search the iTunes Music store catalog from a regular browser? I'm on a computer that I have no hope of installilng iTunes on but I'm constantly being asked by co-workers 'Do they have such-and-such a song?' with no way of looking it up. Maybe it's just me.

You can:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSearch.woa/wa/itmsLinkMaker

[rfenik]

Wow....

I actually eat McDonalds on a regular basis, so this is a sweet deal for me.

Too bad they won't give them away with the dollar double cheeseburgers.

-ryan

[jettredmont]

Originally posted by srobert
The question is:

Will you be winning a SONG or a DOWNLOAD from iTMS.

What I mean is: Will you win a specific song? i.e.: "Dang! that's the third crappy Avril Lavigne song I won this week". Or will you win a $.99 download of your choice?

and also...

How long before Burger King gives away a billion song from Napster's music store? ^_^

Isn't Burger King owned by Pepsico? Along with KFC and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and a handful of others?

If so, I wouldn't see them promoting Napster ... Carl's Jr or Wendy's or Roy Rogers or somebody, maybe, but not a Pepsico subsidiary, not when Pepsico is fronting a massive iTMS ad campaign starting with the Superbowl ...

[minux]

[inappropriate]

[dynamicd]

All Apple needs now is a promotion with starbucks.

[jettredmont]

Originally posted by ipiloot
Hei! Who mentioned, that the campaign is US only? With gift certificate one can get the song anywhere in the world. So I think that the campaign of this Incredisize is going to be worldwide.

Actually, you're thinking of allowance, not gift certificates. Gift certificates require that you have or open your own US-credit-card-based iTMS account.

I don't think McD or Pepsi are going to put the world on allowance!

[AirUncleP]

Apple puts and eMac in every participating McDonalds. "Winners" can use the eMac to download and/or e-mail their song choice to their home e-mail. At the end of the promotion Mickie D's can giveaway the computer to a school or have a drawing for it. To be entered in the drawing of course you would have to enter your contact information. This would generate a huge marketing list for Apple and McDonalds.

[mrl14]

I can just see it now.

Server: "Hello Can I take Your Order Sir?"

Driver: "Yes Can I Have Track 3 and 7 From 50 cent?"

Server:"Certainly! Would you like fries with that?"

Driver: "Yes, upsize my order please!"

Server: "No Problem. When you upsize an order you double the amount of computers you can download a song too and your fries come in extra large!"

Driver: "Thank You!"

[Datazoid]

McDonald's response... (http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031106/1251001388_1.html)

[AirUncleP]

Originally posted by mrl14
I can just see it now.

Server: "Hello Can I take Your Order Sir?"

Driver: "Yes Can I Have Track 3 and 7 From 50 cent?"

Server:"Certainly! Would you like fries with that?"

Driver: "Yes, upsize my order please!"

Server: "No Problem. When you upsize an order you double the amount of computers you can download a song too and your fries come in extra large!"

Driver: "Thank You!"

Did Apple upgrade OS X Server 10.3 to include voice interactions?

[DGFan]

Originally posted by rjstanford
Actually, there are more Subway stores than McDonalds. Go Jared!

-Richard

Yes, there are 4 Subways within 2 miles of where I live. But, you see, they generally don't have more than one or two customers in them at a time. I believe McDonalds is #1 in revenue.

[DGFan]

Originally posted by jettredmont
Isn't Burger King owned by Pepsico? Along with KFC and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and a handful of others?


They spun them off. I think they are Yum foods or something.

[MM2270]

Originally posted by nebben123
**** the vegans, huh Steve?

McDonald's sucks!

man, I have to say I'm not sure I love this promotion too much. I mean, I'm glad Apple will be getting great exposure, but I can't help but feel Apple, and more importantly Stevie boy are selling out. The Pepsi thing was sort of OK, but McDonalds!? Gawwd, couldn't they have found someone better to join forces with? Fast food is nasty stuff, no matter who you get it from, but I'd have to say that McD's is unanimously the WORST fast food on the planet. Pure schlock!

And Steve is a vegan! How could he condone this? Well, I guess he IS a business man after all, but I thought he had a little more morals than this. Oh well. I guess I just don't like Apple being associated with food that's made from spare animal parts and chemicals that contributes to the obesity of America, not to mention deaths from coronaries. :rolleyes: :(

[billyboy]

Originally posted by MM2270
man, I have to say I'm not sure I love this promotion too much. I mean, I'm glad Apple will be getting great exposure, but I can't help but feel Apple, and more importantly Stevie boy are selling out. The Pepsi thing was sort of OK, but McDonalds!? Gawwd, couldn't they have found someone better to join forces with? Fast food is nasty stuff, no matter who you get it from, but I'd have to say that McD's is unanimously the WORST fast food on the planet. Pure schlock!

And Steve is a vegan! How could he condone this? Well, I guess he IS a business man after all, but I thought he had a little more morals than this. Oh well. I guess I just don't like Apple being associated with food that's made from spare animal parts and chemicals that contributes to the obesity of America, not to mention deaths from coronaries. :rolleyes: :(

What deal are you talking about exactly? All they say is that they are giving away 1 billion songs. I imagine the devil´s in the detail. Maybe you will be able to buy bottled water and salad in exchange for a tune. You never know, you might not even be entitled to the offer if it´s a promo in Europe only.

[itboy2000]

Originally posted by MM2270
Gawwd, couldn't they have found someone better to join forces with? Fast food is nasty stuff, no matter who you get it from, but I'd have to say that McD's is unanimously the WORST fast food on the planet. Pure schlock!



And there, people, you have it.

[Foxer]

Originally posted by jettredmont
Isn't Burger King owned by Pepsico? Along with KFC and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and a handful of others?


No. Pizza hut/Taco Bell/KFC were owned by Pepsi, but were spun off and are called Tricon, I believe. That fact was used when Coke got BK to switch from Pepsi several years ago, by asking "why do you want to sell pepsi and thus support your competion?"

BK was owned by Pillsbury, at least until recently. I think they (Pillsbury) wanted to dump them, but I don't know how that turned out. BK is in perpetually bad shape.

Originally posted by MM2270
Gawwd, couldn't they have found someone better to join forces with? Fast food is nasty stuff, no matter who you get it from, but I'd have to say that McD's is unanimously the WORST fast food on the planet. Pure schlock!


This snobbery is almost worse than the wal-mart thread. I regularly eat at McDonalds beacuse it is convenient and cheap. It ain't that bad, and I downright enjoy the chicken sandwich. Are there better choices? Sure - Wendy's and Chick-fil-a are better, but not located around me. Would I prefer to sit down and enjoy a nice Indian, Chinese, Mexican meal everyday - of course. I just don't have the time to do so at lunch.

This whole business about McDonalds being evil or something is just crap. Just beacuse something is popular with "the masses" doesn't make it evil. As mac users, I guess many of us a suspicious of anything that is the "market leader," but they usually get there somehow - and I don't think the reason is that they are "evil."

You tell me that McDonalds has a bad human rights record. When did McDonald's become a nation-state? They offer entry level jobs to kids, supplemental jobs to the elderly and a break for newly arrived immigrants. These people are otherwise unemployable. Whatever benfits the recieve from McDonalds are better than none. This isn't a command economy (at least not yet), and people still have the right to choose their place of employment. The deal they got from McDonald's was obviously better than whatever they had going before. And if McDonalds were somehow compelled to offer a panoply of benefits, what would that do to the price of the food? All these newly rich workers would soon be unemployed again when McDonald's business plumets from being priced out of the market.

I could go on, but I've got to start billing some hours. Maybe I'll add to my rant later on. Don't even get me started on the environment and "globalisation." This is why I stay out of the political discussion thread. All I came here to do was talk about macs!

[jettredmont]

Originally posted by Foxer
No. Pizza hut/Taco Bell/KFC were owned by Pepsi, but were spun off and are called Tricon, I believe. That fact was used when Coke got BK to switch from Pepsi several years ago, by asking "why do you want to sell pepsi and thus support your competion?"

BK was owned by Pillsbury, at least until recently. I think they (Pillsbury) wanted to dump them, but I don't know how that turned out. BK is in perpetually bad shape.



Man, I'm out of touch with the Fast Food Corporate Soap Opera!

I think someone needs to start an "As the Burger Turns" website ...

[illumin8]

Originally posted by Lancetx
There will be companies lined up around the block to license AAC/Fairplay for their players too if this all goes through.
I think you missed the previous article about how Steve doesn't think they should let other MP3 players besides iPod work with iTMS. I tend to agree with him.

The only problem they could run into is if they get a 90+% monopoly on Music sales + iPod sales they could be open to anti-competitive legal issues a'la Microsoft.

[illumin8]

Originally posted by Tulse
Hah! I hadn't thought of that, but you're right -- this deal rather clashes with Steve's personal dietary beliefs. Maybe he only agreed because McD's now has a veggie burger.
Steve would not be as successful as he is today if he let his personal beliefs get in the way of common business sense. You don't nix a $1 billion dollar deal just because you believe in animal rights... Well, at least, you don't nix a $1 billion dollar deal and expect to not get axed by the board of directors shortly.

[DGFan]

Originally posted by Foxer
No. Pizza hut/Taco Bell/KFC were owned by Pepsi, but were spun off and are called Tricon, I believe. That fact was used when Coke got BK to switch from Pepsi several years ago, by asking "why do you want to sell pepsi and thus support your competion?"


I did a little research...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=YUM

[SiliconAddict]

Originally posted by illumin8
I think you missed the previous article about how Steve doesn't think they should let other MP3 players besides iPod work with iTMS. I tend to agree with him.

The only problem they could run into is if they get a 90+% monopoly on Music sales + iPod sales they could be open to anti-competitive legal issues a'la Microsoft.

Naaa as long as prices remain fair and Apple doesn't act like an overbearing PITA no one will cry anti-competitive. (MS routinely bites the hand that feeds it. Hence the monopoly outcries a few years back.)
However I've always considered Apple to be the parallel dimension version of MS if they had gotten the shaft in the computer industry. (flip sides of the same quarter.) If Apple had a monopoly on anything they would probably be just as overbearing as MS. Jobs as it stand is, IMHO, an arrogant little prick. I can’t imagine him at the helm of a monopoly. That’s just scary. :eek:

[panphage]

Originally posted by Foxer
This whole business about McDonalds being evil or something is just crap. Just beacuse something is popular with "the masses" doesn't make it evil. As mac users, I guess many of us a suspicious of anything that is the "market leader," but they usually get there somehow - and I don't think the reason is that they are "evil."


Do yourself a favor and read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, ISBN: 0060938455. You'll change that tune pretty fast. It's more about quality standards and how mass-production to meet fast-food level demands is changing American society than it is about any company being "evil" but the devil can be clearly seen in the details. Want to know why fast food tastes so good? It's because it's built to taste so good: they actually spray on "flavor" chemicals designed to appeal to our appetites. Maybe they should just start selling the flavor spray to us.

[Foxer]

Originally posted by DGFan
I did a little research...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=YUM

Also see...

http://www.tricon-restaurants.de/

I guess they changed their name domestically bu kept the Tricon moniker overseas, or at least the website.

[codycartoon]

Does apple really want to be associated with a corporation that has no respect for healthy eating habits, destroys local businesses, abuses illegal and teenage workers, buys slaughtered cattle from mega cattle corporation witch screw farmers and exploit illegal mexican workers, and is perhaps the sole reason for the obesity epidemic in America?

Why is apple targeting a consumer base that doesn't care about there food or where it comes from?

-cody

Source: Fast Food Nation, Time Magazine, Adbusters Magazine, and Personal Observations.

[rjstanford]

Originally posted by panphage
Want to know why fast food tastes so good? It's because it's built to taste so good: they actually spray on "flavor" chemicals designed to appeal to our appetites.Damn straight. I want my fast food to taste bad! With no flavor whatsoever!

I mean, sheesh. Its not holistic natural goodness, but it never pretended to be. If they can spritz on some "flavor" chemicals that, presumably, not only meet all FDA guidelines for safety but don't (like MSG) cause allergic recactions among their customers, and do so for less money than the alternatives to get the same results, why shouldn't they? After all, that keeps the prices down for their customers, and/or their financials good for their shareholders (including pretty much anyone with an index fund).

-Richard

[rdowns]

Originally posted by Dippo
Well, I don't think that anyone has hacked the current BestBuy bucks for the Monopoly game, and they are a dollar each.

So, I don't think any would be able to hack before the promotion ended.

It's a 16 digit hexidecimal code.
That's 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 different combinations.

EDIT: So with random guessing you would have a 1 in 18,446,744,073 chance of guessing a correct code.

There we have it, we now know what the new Virginia U G5 cluster was built for.

[Nermal]

You all seem to be ignoring this (http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031106/1251001388_1.html).

As for what companies own what, here in NZ at least, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks are all owned by a company called Resturant Brands. I think BK and McD's are independent.

[panphage]

Originally posted by rjstanford
Damn straight. I want my fast food to taste bad! With no flavor whatsoever!

I mean, sheesh. Its not holistic natural goodness, but it never pretended to be. If they can spritz on some "flavor" chemicals that, presumably, not only meet all FDA guidelines for safety but don't (like MSG) cause allergic recactions among their customers, and do so for less money than the alternatives to get the same results, why shouldn't they? After all, that keeps the prices down for their customers, and/or their financials good for their shareholders (including pretty much anyone with an index fund).

-Richard

Well, I think the point is that actual real food has it's own flavor, you don't need to spray it on. When I buy ground chuck from the grocer, I don't have to spray flavor on it to make it appeal to me. I can also fry up potatoes that taste quite good. When food has been processed to the point that it no longer contains flavor, it seems likely to be lacking in nutrients as well.