Apple has launched a special promo section on the iTunes Store celebrating the fifth anniversary of the store’s launch. “iTunes Turns Five” features a look back at bestselling and staff-recommended media from each of the store’s five years of operation.
Launched on April 28, 2003, the iTunes Music Store initially offered “more than 200,000 songs and a handful of exclusive tracks.” Over the years it has grown to offer more than 10 million songs, as well as movies, TV shows, iPod games, podcasts, audiobooks, and music videos, a diversification reflected when the store dropped the word “Music” from its name. As such, each year spotlighted in the promotion represents the content available that year; for instance, 2003’s promo page features only music, while 2005’s page spotlights music as well as TV programming (launched on October 12 of that year), podcasts, and audiobooks.
The iTunes Store is now the largest music retailer in the U.S., and has sold more than 4 billion songs.
Update: Following the publication of this story, Apple made alterations to the iTunes Turns Five promo pages to change the number of songs available on the iTunes Store from 10 million to 6 million; no explanation has been given for the change.
