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iTunes Store
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iTunes Store
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| Operator | Apple |
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| Launched | April 28, 2003 (iTunes Music Store) — 200,000 songs, 99¢ each |
| Expanded | Videos (2005) · films (2006) · DRM-free music (2007–09) |
| Status | Active storefront inside Apple Music, Apple TV, and legacy iTunes |
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The iTunes Store convinced the record industry — and then the public — that people would pay for downloads in the Napster age. Steve Jobs's terms were radical in 2003: every song 99 cents, albums unbundled, all five majors aboard. It sold its billionth song within three years and became the largest music retailer in the United States by 2008.
1 Arc✎
The Store's model — own your files, sync to your iPod — defined digital media's first decade, expanded into television and films, and shed its DRM between 2007 and 2009. Streaming ended the era it built: Apple Music's 2015 launch made purchasing the minority path, and the Store settled into its current role as the buy-and-rent counter inside the streaming apps, plus the purchase history a generation accumulated.
2 Position✎
The iTunes Store is the transaction layer the modern services empire grew from: the Apple ID, the card on file, and the habit of buying media from Apple all date to it. Its 99-cent unbundling reshaped the music business as thoroughly as any technology of its time.
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