Apple on Wednesday announced that more than 300 million purchases and downloads have been made from its iTunes Music Store. The company also used the occasion to note that “Across the Universe,” a benefit single recorded live during a stage performance at this year’s Grammy Awards and available exclusively through iTunes, debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart at number 22 — the most successful exclusive digital track ever in its first week of release, according to Apple.
Available for Mac and Windows computers, the iTunes Music Store now operates in 15 countries in North America and Europe. In the United States the service features more than one million songs from major music companies and 600 independent record labels, as well as more than 9,000 audiobooks. It was in late January when Apple announced the iTunes Music Store had passed the 250 million song mark.