McDonald's 1 Billion Song Promotion... A Go? - MacRumors
Skip to Content

McDonald's 1 Billion Song Promotion... A Go?

Martin Bandier, Chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing, spoke at EMI's Interim Results 2003 Conference today.

Starting at 38 minutes into the webcast, Mr. Bandier speaks of EMI's performance over this past year, and goes on to discuss the growth of legal music download services such as Apple's iTunes. On future performance, he notes:


    "... but there is real potential for the future especially when PepsiCola makes a commitment to giveaway up to 100 million downloads and Mcdonald's commits to 1 billion in download giveaways as part of a promotional campaign."

The New York Post first reported that McDonald's was close to announcing a 1 billion iTunes song giveaway. While McDonald's had no deal to announce at the time, we subsequently received confirmation that the deal was in the works.

While it is possible the comments may simply be reflective of the circulating rumors, it seems likely that EMI's CEO would be privy to such knowledge and that he would be unlikely to make comments at a financial conference based on unfounded rumors.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

iphone duo

Apple Announces Foldable 'iPhone Duo'

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:56 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "iPhone Duo," a new kind of iPhone featuring two screens and a foldable inner display. The two halves of the iPhone Duo connect into a single continuous frame with the same aspect ratio across both displays, and Apple said the transition between open and closed is designed to feel fluid. When fully open, Apple says it is the thinnest iPhone ever made, with an...
Surprise and Shine Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, and More Expected

Wednesday September 9, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, new AirPods 5 earphones, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
apple surprise and shine event

Apple Event Today: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo Cheat Sheet

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:24 am PDT by
Apple's biggest event of the year is almost here, and all eyes are on Cupertino. With the first foldable iPhone expected to headline Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the rumor mill has been running full throttle, fuelled by the biggest single design change in the life of the iPhone. To get you up to speed, here's a quick reference...