Apple - iTunes Music software
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2003 8:58 am
Apple sells Net tunes for a song: 99 cents
Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Posted: 11:43 AM EDT (1543 GMT)
Apple chief executive Steve Job poses with musicians Seal, left, and Josh Groban, right, during the iTunes Music Store launch event.
Apple is launching a service that provides music online while protecting artists and record companies from illegal downloads. CNN's Andy Serwer reports (April 29)
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Fortune.com: Will Steve Jobs save the music industry?
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Apple Computer Inc. unveiled its long-awaited online music service this week, promising to make the process of buying music on the Internet simple and affordable.
The company said it aimed to make its Internet-based iTunes Music Store service cheap enough to compete with free, file-swapping sites the record industry blames for its slump.
Apple said on Monday its iTunes Musci software was immediately available for its own Macintosh computers, while a Windows version would be available by the end of the year.
In addition to downloading songs for 99 cents each, users would be allowed to burn songs on an unlimited number of CDs for personal use and download them on up to three computers.
At the same time, Apple rolled out new versions of its popular iPod digital music players with expanded capacity.
As expected, Apple said that its online song service would be integrated closely with its iPod line, allowing Mac users to buy music over the Internet and transfer it readily to the handheld players.
"Consumers don't want to be treated like criminals and artists don't want their valuable work stolen," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.
Apple said its online music service would feature more than 200,000 songs from the top five music companies.
Under one roof
"We don't know any other company that has these assets under one roof," Jobs said, referring to Apple's iPod, iTunes software, and the deals it had negotiated with the five largest record labels.
More than two years ago, Apple took the wraps off an advertising campaign with the phrase, "Rip. Mix. Burn," which irritated many in the music industry, who thought the tagline amounted to an incitement to piracy.
Jobs acknowledged as much on Monday, noting dryly: "There was some confusion." However, Jobs said that "rip" simply means transferring music from a CD to a computer's hard drive.
"That's what it means to everyone under 30," Jobs said at a San Francisco event attended by hundreds to unveil the service. He added that in light of Apple's music service, the tagline should be updated to be "Acquire. Manage. Listen."
Record industry executives have expressed hope that Apple's commercial music offering can lure users away from the file-sharing Internet services that music companies have blamed for slumping CD sales.
Marsalis, Morrissette
Jobs concluded the event with a video deaturing interviews with U2 lead singer Bono and musicians Wynton Marsalis and Alanis Morissette, all praising Apple's new service.
Jobs said that the pay-as-you-download Apple service, which allows users to hear free, 30-second clips of songs, was superior to other fee-based online music services.
"People are used to owning their music," not renting it, Jobs said. "We think subscriptions are the wrong path."
Listen.com's Rhapsody digital music service, which costs $9.95 a month and allows users to burn songs to a CD directly for 99 cents, offers more than Apple's service, the company's chief executive said.
"What Apple offers is about one-third of the features, two-thirds of the music to just over 3 percent of the market," said Sean Ryan, CEO of Listen.com, adding that its average user listens to 200 or more songs a month, which would make Apple's approach prohibitively expensive.
Rhapsody is being acquired by RealNetworks Inc. . Representatives of the two online music services backed by the major labels, Pressplay and MusicNet, could not be immediately reached for comment, although record executives have been supportive of Apple's efforts. Entertainment companies battling to shut down such file-sharing sites suffered an unexpected setback Friday when a federal judge in Los Angeles denied a request to shut the Grokster and Morpheus song-swap services, saying they cannot control what is traded over their networks.
Cupertino, California-based Apple has built its strategy of around the idea that its Macintosh computers, which represent about 3 percent of the personal computer market, could serve as the "digital hub" of a still-emerging digital lifestyle.
Apple already has a hit with its popular iPod digital music player. The device, the size of a deck of playing cards, holds thousands of songs in digital format. It is available in versions that work both on Apple's computer and on computers using Microsoft's Windows operating system.
The new iPods are available in 10-gigabyte, 15-gigabyte and 30-gigabyte models and cost $299, $399 and $499, respectively. They are thinner and lighter than previous models and have back-lit buttons.
Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Posted: 11:43 AM EDT (1543 GMT)
Apple chief executive Steve Job poses with musicians Seal, left, and Josh Groban, right, during the iTunes Music Store launch event.
Apple is launching a service that provides music online while protecting artists and record companies from illegal downloads. CNN's Andy Serwer reports (April 29)
PLAY VIDEO
RELATED
Fortune.com: Will Steve Jobs save the music industry?
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Apple Computer Inc. unveiled its long-awaited online music service this week, promising to make the process of buying music on the Internet simple and affordable.
The company said it aimed to make its Internet-based iTunes Music Store service cheap enough to compete with free, file-swapping sites the record industry blames for its slump.
Apple said on Monday its iTunes Musci software was immediately available for its own Macintosh computers, while a Windows version would be available by the end of the year.
In addition to downloading songs for 99 cents each, users would be allowed to burn songs on an unlimited number of CDs for personal use and download them on up to three computers.
At the same time, Apple rolled out new versions of its popular iPod digital music players with expanded capacity.
As expected, Apple said that its online song service would be integrated closely with its iPod line, allowing Mac users to buy music over the Internet and transfer it readily to the handheld players.
"Consumers don't want to be treated like criminals and artists don't want their valuable work stolen," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.
Apple said its online music service would feature more than 200,000 songs from the top five music companies.
Under one roof
"We don't know any other company that has these assets under one roof," Jobs said, referring to Apple's iPod, iTunes software, and the deals it had negotiated with the five largest record labels.
More than two years ago, Apple took the wraps off an advertising campaign with the phrase, "Rip. Mix. Burn," which irritated many in the music industry, who thought the tagline amounted to an incitement to piracy.
Jobs acknowledged as much on Monday, noting dryly: "There was some confusion." However, Jobs said that "rip" simply means transferring music from a CD to a computer's hard drive.
"That's what it means to everyone under 30," Jobs said at a San Francisco event attended by hundreds to unveil the service. He added that in light of Apple's music service, the tagline should be updated to be "Acquire. Manage. Listen."
Record industry executives have expressed hope that Apple's commercial music offering can lure users away from the file-sharing Internet services that music companies have blamed for slumping CD sales.
Marsalis, Morrissette
Jobs concluded the event with a video deaturing interviews with U2 lead singer Bono and musicians Wynton Marsalis and Alanis Morissette, all praising Apple's new service.
Jobs said that the pay-as-you-download Apple service, which allows users to hear free, 30-second clips of songs, was superior to other fee-based online music services.
"People are used to owning their music," not renting it, Jobs said. "We think subscriptions are the wrong path."
Listen.com's Rhapsody digital music service, which costs $9.95 a month and allows users to burn songs to a CD directly for 99 cents, offers more than Apple's service, the company's chief executive said.
"What Apple offers is about one-third of the features, two-thirds of the music to just over 3 percent of the market," said Sean Ryan, CEO of Listen.com, adding that its average user listens to 200 or more songs a month, which would make Apple's approach prohibitively expensive.
Rhapsody is being acquired by RealNetworks Inc. . Representatives of the two online music services backed by the major labels, Pressplay and MusicNet, could not be immediately reached for comment, although record executives have been supportive of Apple's efforts. Entertainment companies battling to shut down such file-sharing sites suffered an unexpected setback Friday when a federal judge in Los Angeles denied a request to shut the Grokster and Morpheus song-swap services, saying they cannot control what is traded over their networks.
Cupertino, California-based Apple has built its strategy of around the idea that its Macintosh computers, which represent about 3 percent of the personal computer market, could serve as the "digital hub" of a still-emerging digital lifestyle.
Apple already has a hit with its popular iPod digital music player. The device, the size of a deck of playing cards, holds thousands of songs in digital format. It is available in versions that work both on Apple's computer and on computers using Microsoft's Windows operating system.
The new iPods are available in 10-gigabyte, 15-gigabyte and 30-gigabyte models and cost $299, $399 and $499, respectively. They are thinner and lighter than previous models and have back-lit buttons.
Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.