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"Happy Belated Birthday, iTunes. You finally turned 5 just two days ago. I hope it's not too late to wish you a very happy birthday."
Launched on April 28th 2003, iTunes was a bold attempt by Apple to streamline music purchases and, more importantly, legalize online music. Way back when, the only way to obtain music legally was to purchase CDs. Ripping music off CDs was still not considered "koshered" by the big music labels. Though there were many attempts at legalizing online music (Rhapsody subscription service, mp3.com's Beam-it, etc.), none was accepted well by the record industry.
It would take an act of one man to successfully convince the music labels. Not only did he convince them that the untested model of a music online store would be a success, but he even pursuaded them to agree to an unheard of pricing scheme: $0.99 per song.
Fast forward to today. I don't have to tell you how successful the iTunes Store is. There are other online music stores out there (some might even be better) but NONE is as successful.
On a personal level, it has changed me in many ways. First of all, I no longer have to go down to places like Tower Records and the Wherehouse to browse at CDs. Secondly, I now have a lot of floor space recovered from the shelving space used to house 1000's of my CDs. Lastly, I now have a one-stop shop for purchasing video, music and TV shows. Of course, my only gripe is that it locks me in to using Apple-made media players.
So what's your take? How has half of a decade of iTunes Store's existence changed you? Let me know!
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