Apple Announces Winner of 10 Billion Song Contest

MacRumors · 08:29 AM

Apple today announced that its iTunes Store has reached the significant milestone of 10 billion songs downloaded, as we noted yesterday. The company also revealed that the winner of its "Countdown to 10 Billion Songs" contest is Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia, who purchased "Guess Things Happen That Way" by Johnny Cash to push Apple to the milestone. Sulcer will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

Quote:

"We're grateful to all of our customers for helping us reach this amazing milestone," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of Internet Services. "We're proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering."

Apple notes in the press release that the iTunes Store currently offers a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 movies including over 2,500 in high definition.

Article Link: Apple Announces Winner of 10 Billion Song Contest

HyperX13 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:25 AM

Johnny Cash rocks!!! That is all I have.

Robert M. · Feb 25, 2010, 08:25 AM

Congrats to him! Hopefully he doesn't spend it all in one place...wait...

Sky Blue · Feb 25, 2010, 08:27 AM

Glad someone with taste won.

VenusianSky · Feb 25, 2010, 08:28 AM

So if the winner was the person that purchased the 10 billionth song, what was the purpose of having a 25 limit per day entry?

840quadra · Feb 25, 2010, 08:28 AM

Yuck on the song, but contrats to the winner

.

rdowns · Feb 25, 2010, 08:29 AM

Poor guy wakes up to a $3,000 tax bill.

millertime021 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:29 AM

Wow it wasn't a rap song that won? Crazy.

Congrats, but good luck with the taxes on that thing.

millertime021 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VenusianSky

So if the winner was the person that purchased the 10 billionth song, what was the purpose of having a 25 limit per day entry?

So when it got close, someone (who had some money) wouldn't go buy $2000 worth of music to win $10000.

But realistically, it didn't matter much anyway.

ghostface147 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:31 AM

Glad to hear that The Man in Black is what won this contest...

miles01110 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:33 AM

Apple is getting cheap. The prize for 1 billion was better

Quote:

Alex Ostrovsky of West Bloomfield, Michigan, bought the billionth song, "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay.[42] He later got a call from Steve Jobs with the good news that the sixteen-year-old was getting ten iPods, an iMac, a $10,000 music gift certificate, and a scholarship established in his name at the Juilliard School.

LEStudios · Feb 25, 2010, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime021

Wow it wasn't a rap song that won? Crazy.

Congrats, but good luck with the taxes on that thing.

I thought I did I bought Eminem Relapse: Refill about that same time.

Schtumple · Feb 25, 2010, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miles01110

Apple is getting cheap. The prize for 1 billion was better

Everything is realative.

Music Labels See Slower iTunes Sales Growth in Wake of Price Increases

mekopolis · Feb 25, 2010, 08:38 AM

They Spelled my name wrong, and i don't live in Georgia...this is awkward

well, at least i don't have to pay all those taxes

kirky29 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:38 AM

Congratulations to them!

I'm glad someone won with a great Taste in Music! Better than some RAP/HIP-HOP CRAP

BillyBobBongo · Feb 25, 2010, 08:40 AM

Bugger, it was suppose to be me! I demand a recount!

slapppy · Feb 25, 2010, 08:42 AM

If its a "gift", does it make a difference with the tax implications?

willmtaylor · Feb 25, 2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdowns

Poor guy wakes up to a $3,000 tax bill.

No kidding. My thoughts exactly.

byke · Feb 25, 2010, 08:53 AM

Just out of interest, is this a contest only for americans?

It seems it has been an american both times, and given the amount of songs sold from worldwide stores it seems questionable.

miles01110 · Feb 25, 2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by byke

Just out of interest, is this a contest only for americans?

It seems it has been an american both times, and given the amount of songs sold from worldwide stores it seems questionable.

The contest entry rules varied by country. Obviously in those countries where the iTunes store isn't allowed, entries were not possible.

MrCrowbar · Feb 25, 2010, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirky29

Congratulations to them!

I'm glad someone won with a great Taste in Music! Better than some RAP/HIP-HOP CRAP

Word! I wish it was one of my iTunes releases though. Hello, free advertising.

rdowns · Feb 25, 2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by byke

Just out of interest, is this a contest only for americans?

It seems it has been an american both times, and given the amount of songs sold from worldwide stores it seems questionable.

Nope.

Chupa Chupa · Feb 25, 2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapppy

If its a "gift", does it make a difference with the tax implications?

if it's a gift there is no tax on the first $11K, but only individuals and married couples can gift to other individuals so moot point. This is a prize won in a contest so its considered income and taxable at whatever the winners tax rate is. The tragedy would be if this $10K prize bumped him up to the next bracket.

BTW no one noted the irony of the winning song title.

NeverhadaPC · Feb 25, 2010, 09:05 AM

They are sour, said the fox about the grapes.

You tax the cash-value of the giftcard. In this case, the case value of the gift is specified by apple to be 1/100 of a dollar (i.e. 1 cent). Yes, he will have to pay taxes... on one cent (or worst case on 100 dollars, if they count it as 1 cent per dollar)

At worst he will pay 14 dollars for a 10,000 dollar gift card. Not too shabby. That is front-page on slickdeals.net for sure

SkippyThorson · Feb 25, 2010, 09:07 AM

Johnny Cash, amen! The day after the American 6 release too.

Good for the Man In Black, and finally, a winner with taste!

Feb 25, 2010, 08:25 AM	#2
HyperX13 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2009	Johnny Cash rocks!!! That is all I have. __________________ HyperX13
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:27 AM	#4
Sky Blue macrumors 603 Join Date: Jan 2005	Glad someone with taste won. __________________ "The case is so square that it easily stands at attention as if begging for treats."
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:29 AM	#7
rdowns macrumors Penryn Join Date: Jul 2003	Poor guy wakes up to a $3,000 tax bill. __________________ 44% of Republicans think an ARMED REBELLION might be necessary in the next few years. So if you say most Reps are nuts, you'd be off by 7%. - Bill Maher
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:29 AM	#8
millertime021 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: AZ	Wow it wasn't a rap song that won? Crazy. Congrats, but good luck with the taxes on that thing. __________________ Apple Blog, Work in Progress XBL --> kickass99xV2 April 2010 15" i7 MacBook Pro
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:38 AM	#15
kirky29 macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Lincolnshire, England	Congratulations to them! I'm glad someone won with a great Taste in Music! Better than some RAP/HIP-HOP CRAP __________________ 15" MacBook Pro 2.2GHz i7 2011, 8 GB RAM - iPhone 4S 16GB - iPad 2/3 - iMac 27, 16GB, 24" Cinema Display Apple Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Time Machine, Apple TV, Airport \| Check out my flickr \|
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:25 AM	#3
Robert M. macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2010	Congrats to him! Hopefully he doesn't spend it all in one place...wait...
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:28 AM	#5
VenusianSky macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2008	So if the winner was the person that purchased the 10 billionth song, what was the purpose of having a 25 limit per day entry?
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:28 AM	#6
840quadra Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Twin Cities, MN	Yuck on the song, but contrats to the winner .
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:31 AM	#10
ghostface147 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2008	Glad to hear that The Man in Black is what won this contest...
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:38 AM	#14
mekopolis macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2008	They Spelled my name wrong, and i don't live in Georgia...this is awkward well, at least i don't have to pay all those taxes
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:40 AM	#16
BillyBobBongo macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: On The Interweb Thingy!	Bugger, it was suppose to be me! I demand a recount! __________________ "You didn't have a bad experience with tequila, you had an experience with bad tequila!" : tequilatown Mac Pro: 2.93GHz Quad-Core, iMac 21.5":2.7 GHz Core i5, MacBook Air: 1.8GHz i5
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:42 AM	#17
slapppy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2008	If its a "gift", does it make a difference with the tax implications?
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 08:53 AM	#19
byke macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN.	Just out of interest, is this a contest only for americans? It seems it has been an american both times, and given the amount of songs sold from worldwide stores it seems questionable. __________________ 2010 Mac Mini \| MBA REV B (1.86 SSD) \| iPhone 4s (16gb) \| iTV 2G \| Mac Pro
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 09:05 AM	#24
NeverhadaPC macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2008	They are sour, said the fox about the grapes. You tax the cash-value of the giftcard. In this case, the case value of the gift is specified by apple to be 1/100 of a dollar (i.e. 1 cent). Yes, he will have to pay taxes... on one cent (or worst case on 100 dollars, if they count it as 1 cent per dollar) At worst he will pay 14 dollars for a 10,000 dollar gift card. Not too shabby. That is front-page on slickdeals.net for sure __________________ 15" MBP, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB HD 20" iMac G5, 2 Ghz, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD Purple iMac G3 333 MHz, 96 MB RAM, 6 GB
	0

Feb 25, 2010, 09:07 AM	#25
SkippyThorson macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Utica, NY	Johnny Cash, amen! The day after the American 6 release too. Good for the Man In Black, and finally, a winner with taste! __________________ Skippy Thorson @ Blogspot AT&T iPhone 4S, 4 & 2G, iPad 2, iPad 3G, v5.5 iPod, v3 & v2 Nano, v1 Shuffle, TV2 2.4ghz Al. MacBook, 1.33ghz iBook G4, 1.25ghz & 800mhz iMac G4s, AEBS
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