How Steve Jobs changed music

Those ubiquitous white earbuds only hint at how profoundly Apple has revamped the way we hear, buy and make music.

1 of 5
BACKNEXT
Music to their ears
Music to their ears

Steve Jobs didn't just launch the iPod in October 2001, he bound it to iTunes, the first easy-to-use software for managing your digital music collection, which had debuted earlier that year.

Yes, the iPod is pretty, but it's iTunes that has fundamentally changed how we relate to music. When the iTunes store went live in 2003, paying for music seemed a quaint idea.

But pricing music at 99¢ a song and making it simple to acquire got some people back in the habit. iTunes may have killed the album, but today superbands are making fortunes selling music one song at a time (and sharing revenue with Apple).

If you don't think Apple means to do the same for all kinds of media -- TV, movies, books, and beyond -- you aren't paying attention.

NEXT: The gear

Last updated November 05 2009: 7:51 AM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
Why Steve Jobs? He revived Apple and remade entire industries, defying the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression -- and his own serious health problems. More
Timeline: Steve Jobs' greatest hits See his early struggles and recent victories, and how investing in Apple stock has paid off. More
Celebrities' favorite iPhone apps Stars from Rachael Ray to Neil Patrick Harris reveal the apps they love to use. More
Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.