Michigan resident Alex Ostrovsky downloaded the one billionth song from Apple’s iTunes Music Store just past midnight Thursday. In doing so, Ostrovsky rocked his way into a lot of loot.
Ostrovsky’s fateful download was of Cold Play’s “Speed of Sound,” a deft selection as, if he were aware of the contest, he must have been thinking along with the lyrics as he hit the download button:
How long before I get in?
Before it starts, before I begin?
How long before you decide?
Before I know what it feels like?
Where To, where do I go?
If you never try, then you’ll never know.
Ostrovsky was competing with about 5 songs per second to hit that 1 billion download mark. Apple Inc. awarded him a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth generation iPods and a $10,000 gift card good for any item on the iTunes Music Store.
In addition, Apple will set up a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in his name to commemorate the event-a fitting prize for someone who shares his name with a Russian playwright whose works have been put to music by classical composers like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsako.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has often had to thwart record label goals to raise the price per downloaded song above 99 cents, was quick to note the impact legal downloads have had on music piracy.
“I hope that every customer, artist and music company executive takes a moment today to reflect on what we’ve achieved together during the past three years,” said Jobs.
“Over one billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet.”
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