iTunes celebrates 10th Anniversary

It’s been 10 years since Apple launched iTunes that changed the way we buy music online forever.

10:01 30 April 2013

10 years ago, prior to the launching of iTunes, the only way to buy music online is to order CD from Amazon.  iTunes, Apple’s new invention in 2003,  has revolutionised the way we buy music and it was never been the same again.

 

On April 28th, 2003, Steve Jobs talked about Apple’s new offering in front of an audience. He said: "We started about a year and a half ago to create a music store. That meant we have to go and negotiate with the big five music companies. Now, before we did this I was reminded of a quote from Hunter S Thompson about the music industry."

 

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs."

 

For the past 10 years, there are now 435 million iTunes users from 119 different countries, which have easy access to a catalogue of more than 26 million songs.

iTunes music store has become a money trench generating £2.6billion in the most recent quarter making it one of the largest music retailers in the world.