Apple says iTunes store sold five times more songs than Napster

LOS ANGELES (Apple press release) - According to Apple Computer, its iTunes online music store sold five times more songs than rival Napster's service in its first week of operation.

iTunes fans purchased and downloaded 1.5 million songs from its iTunes Music Store during the same period that Napster reported selling 300,000 songs.

Napster, the song-swap pioneer that revolutionized online music and turned the music industry upside down, was bought last year by Roxio Inc. in a bankruptcy auction. The revamped service opened for business Oct. 29.

Apple also cited data from Nielsen SoundScan showing that its online music store had more than 80 percent of the market for legally purchased downloads last week.

More than 17 million songs have been bought on iTunes at 99 cents each since the popular service was introduced in April. The iTunes software, which has the music store integrated into it, is now available for both Macintosh computers and those who use Microsoft's Windows operating system.