On April 28, 2003, Apple launched its solution to the music industry’s hatred of MP3s. That day, the tech company announced iTunes, the online music store that allowed listeners to purchase songs for 99 cents each, load them onto iPods, and legally burn as many CDs as their hearts desired. Legally being the key word here.
For music fans who were tired of previously gambling with Napster and Limewire files, wondering if the next download would finally sneak a virus onto their computer, iTunes may have seemed like a blessing. No more guessing if you were actually getting what you were downloading. Instead, you had a legally purchased song or album in your library to do what you wanted with.
iTunes Allowed Listeners to Actually Own The Music They Purchased, Unlike Streaming Platforms Today
Unlike the Apple Music of today, iTunes wasn’t a monthly subscription. It was simply a library of music that could be purchased, kind of like going to the record store and picking out an album. Granted, it wasn’t as community-minded as a local record shop.
But iTunes offered the unique experience of purchasing one song at a time, if you so wished. At a time when burning mix CDs was still common practice, iTunes was a viable option for listeners who wanted to avoid the inherent risk of piracy.
In the official announcement from Apple, the company laid out all the exciting things fans could do with the music they purchased. Wondering how listeners could legally burn CDs through iTunes? The online music store came with “groundbreaking personal use rights,” which meant they became illegal once distributed or sold.
But the difference between iTunes and Apple Music (and streaming in general) is that fans owned the songs they bought. They could use them in several different creative Mac programs, like iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. Or burn their own CDs as mentioned.
There was a freedom and dignity to iTunes that streaming platforms just don’t have
“Consumers don’t want to be treated like criminals, and artists don’t want their valuable work stolen,” said Steve Jobs in the 2003 announcement. “The iTunes Music Store offers a groundbreaking solution for both.”
As music was making the big shift from analog to digital, iTunes appeared as a beacon for the music industry. Record companies detested the shift, as it opened up a whole new host of problems for them. Copyright infringement, loss of funds, and leaked music because of pirated MP3s. Remember the old anti-piracy ads? “You wouldn’t download a car”? For the music industry, theft was a very real concern.
These days, theft through piracy seems like small potatoes compared to the way streaming platforms exploit artists endlessly and with, allegedly, no remorse. iTunes was a modern solution for a modern problem. But the problem has now evolved beyond the realm of modern comprehension.
The post 23 Years Ago, Steve Jobs Developed a Way To Satisfy the Music Industry in an Age of Piracy appeared first on VICE.
