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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) said Wednesday that users downloaded a record number of songs from its iTunes Music Store since an upgrade last week that marked the site's one-year anniversary and included a limited-time free song offer.
Apple said 3.3 million songs were downloaded in the week following the third-generation upgrade of iTunes, also known as iTunes 4.5.
Users also appear to be taking to the site's newer features, posting some 20,000 personalized "iMixes," which in turn have been rated some 50,000 times by fellow iTunes Music Store visitors.
iTunes 'Blows Away' Other Services
In addition to the 3.3 million songs purchased during the week, Apple said about 500,000 songs were downloaded from the catalog of free music made available on the site for an eight-day period as part of the anniversary promotion. (*correction)
The upgrade also featured the ability to print CD-case inserts and to automatically convert Windows-compatible files into an iTunes-friendly format.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the numbers show that iTunes "blows away any other online music services."
Playing Catch Up
ITunes marked its one-year anniversary without reaching its goal of selling 100 million songs through the site by that time, falling about 30 million songs short. To boost downloads, it offered users the ability to download one free song a day for a week, offering free tracks from Foo Fighters, Annie Lennox and Jane's Addiction.
The offer apparently paid off, boosting overall downloads from the usual weekly rate of around 2.7 million.
The so-called third generation of iTunes expanded the site's music catalog -- it now holds 700,000 tracks -- and focused heavily on enhancing the sense of community on the site. It also is aimed at making it easier for users who may have begun digital music collections in Windows format to convert to the iTunes protocol.
Free and Easy
GartnerG2 analyst Mike McGuire told MacNewsWorld that, although it fell short of its 100-million song goal, iTunes has done more to revive the online music business than all of its competitors combined.
The surge in users immediately after the anniversary shows the store can still draw a crowd with a promotion, something that Apple was likely eager to prove after its promotional effort with Pepsi hit some bumps in the road and resulted in around 5 million downloads, far fewer than expected.
"The technology is good, but the willingness of Apple to spend millions marketing and promoting iTunes is one of the main reasons the site has been an undisputed success," McGuire said. "In that sense, they've really shown their future competitors the pathway."
At the same time, McGuire noted the irony of Apple offering free music as an incentive, given that iTunes and other music stores are responses to the free music swapping phenomenon, he said. 
*Editor's Correction Note: In the original version of this article, we incorrectly stated, "Apple said about 500,000 of the 3.3 million songs downloaded were from the catalog of free music made available on the site for an eight-day period as part of the anniversary promotion." In fact, the 500,000 free songs were in addition to the 3.3 million songs purchased.
