Hi there,

I'd like to know how many people use iTunes to download media content.
 Can you please give me a reference to the total number of people who
use iTunes world-wide?  Just give me a number and a link to your
source, like this:

120,000,000
http://www.xxxxx.com

Or if you find out in a book or print journal, just list the
bibliographic information.

Thanks!

Matt

Reports of the number of iTunes users vary widely, depending upon
who's doing the reporting. Below I've posted some of the most recent
figures from reputable sources.

Research analyst Sam Bhavnani, of the market research firm Current
Analysis, says that iTunes has 200 million users. Research analyst
Shaw Wu, of the market research firm American Technology Research,
gives a figure of 100 million. Oddly, Apple itself gives a much lower
number: 10 million.

200,000,000
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,69193,00.html

100,000,000
http://www.macobserver.com/stockwatch/2005/10/17.1.shtml

10,000,000
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download

Sources:

"Analyst Sam Bhavnani of Current Analysis said the new iPod was 'neat'
but the big news was online distribution of video.

'Today, it's music videos and TV shows, but eventually you get to
movies," he said. "Apple has a huge audience of 200 million iTunes
users, and you'll have music videos, TV shows and movies all in one
place'."

Wired: Apple Gives Video the IPod Touch  (Oct. 12, 2005)
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,69193,00.html

"But iTunes has around 200 million users -- mainstream users who have
already gotten used to Apple's music download model, said Sam
Bhavnani, a senior analyst at Current Analysis Inc. in San Diego.
'That's a very big audience they can go after,' he said."

Computerworld: Apple and the video iPod (OCTOBER 13, 2005)
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/macos/story/0,10801,105365p2,00.html

"With an install base of 28 million iPods, which Mr. [Shaw] Wu
estimates could reach more than 37 million by the end of this year,
and 100 million iTunes users, 'Apple remains the only player that
designs its own hardware, software and service,' he wrote."

The Mac Observer: AmTech Upgrades Apple Stock (October 17th, 2005)
http://www.macobserver.com/stockwatch/2005/10/17.1.shtml

"Apple has sold more than 600 million songs through its iTunes store
and more than 10 million users have iTunes accounts. That's still a
big target market, [Ed] Zander said. Some analysts are skeptical about
the company's ability to reach those users."

Bloomberg Top Worldwide: ITunes Phone May Flop (October 21, 2005)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a6NrxjkDWJKA&refer=top_world_news

"iTunes still leads the digital music market in 20 countries, with an
85 percent share of the global digital music sales market. There are
now 10 million iTunes users with accounts at the iTunes Music Store."

Mac News Network: iPod nano demand "staggering" (October 11, 2005)
http://www.macnn.com/articles/05/10/11/aapl.q4.conference.call/

"Post your own customer reviews and ratings, and read what over 10
million iTunes users worldwide have to say about what's playing on
iTunes."

Apple: Download iTunes (undated webpage)
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

"As part of a worldwide community of more than 10 million strong,
iTunes customers keep you up to speed on everything they download."

Apple: iTunes Music (undated webpage)
http://www.apple.com/itunes/music/

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "million itunes users" OR "itunes users worldwide"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22million+itunes+users%22+OR+%22itunes+users+worldwide%22

I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll be glad
to offer further assistance before you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Great job!