iTunes' sales of 50M songs far short of April 28 goal

Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple Computer Inc. said yesterday that it has sold more than 50 million songs through its online iTunes Music Store.

Apple's latest tally falls short of its one-year anniversary target of 100 million songs by April 28, but company officials said they weren't discouraged.

"Setting that goal was a way to put the stake in the ground and say that we were going to be the leader," said Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of applications marketing.

A dozen other online music services followed Apple's 99-cents-per-download debut with similar a la carte song services.

Shares of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple fell $1.11 to close at $26.45 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Apple maintains a clear lead over its closest rival, Napster.

Napster's parent, Roxio Inc., said Friday that its online music sales were above forecasts.

Napster service expects to add more users and pull in revenue of about $5.5 million in the quarter ending in March, above its February projection of $5 million as well as the third quarter's $3.6 million.

Roxio's Napster has little in common but the name and logo with the free music-sharing service that was shut down in 2001 after a legal battle with the recording industry.

The new Napster was launched in October and charges 99 cents per song, the same as iTunes.

Roxio also makes software for burning CDs and DVDs.

The company raised its revenue outlook for that unit to $26 million from its February forecast of $25 million. The unit reported $15.2 million in revenue in the third quarter.

Piper Jaffray, the lone bull on Roxio's stock, repeated its "outperform" rating in a research note yesterday.

The stock of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Roxio closed at $5.06, up 78 cents, or 18 percent, on heavy volume on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Another competitor, Musicmatch, has not disclosed its song sales, but analysts estimate it follows closely behind Napster.