“You can’t roll a joint on an iPod” or how the iPod killed the music industry. First the music biz overlooked the computer CD rom when they put copy control on cd burners. Then they eliminated the single. Shortly after that "mp3" replaced "sex" as the most popular search term. Apple has become the largest music seller largely against the wishes of the music biz, but 99 cents beats free. Yesterday Apple announced they were eliminating DRM. The questions remains, who needs Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, and EMI, does Apple? When is Apple just going to replace them? There were rumors a year ago that they would launch a record label with Jay-Z but that does not appear to have come to fruition.
posted by caddis on Jan 7, 2009 - 105 comments

Music's New Gatekeeper - From their Silicon Valley cubicles, Apple staffers have become music's unlikely power brokers.
posted by nevercalm on Mar 10, 2007 - 21 comments

If you wanted to spend $100 on a 512 mb capacity mp3 player with no screen, you could buy an iPod shuffle, or you could get a player in the form of a PEZ dispenser. Developed by a stay-at-home dad who documented the design process on a sadly defunct blog, the only drawback is that it doesn't dispense candy.
posted by kyleg on Oct 13, 2005 - 5 comments

iPhone is here (nearly!) ...Apple reveals the iPhone! And the iPod nano?
posted by tommyc on Sep 7, 2005 - 151 comments

While the Grateful Dead were pioneers in the sharing of music, it wasn't too long ago that fans had to meet in-person with other DeadHeads at taping parties to grow their library of "bootlegs." In the late 1990s when CD burners became more prominent, The Dead again led the way. They went on record to say that fans were still welcome to copy, share and trade their music as long as no money changing hands—including no advertising on web sites with downloads. Yesterday, the band again made history when they announced they are releasing the contents of their vast vault electronically (and simultaneouly) on iTunes Music Store and their very own Grateful Dead online store, the latter making the songs available in mp3 (128 and 256kbps) and FLAC .
posted by terrapin on Mar 2, 2005 - 74 comments

Hey, shut up, I can't hear! What else will 99¢ get you from the iTunes Music Store? Nothin', that's what.
posted by marzenie99 on Feb 6, 2004 - 30 comments

An "insanely great" solution to MP3 piracy that users AND the recording industry will accept? While still only a rumor, Apple Computer may be developing a service in conjunction with all major recording studios to permit easy, inexpensive downloading of music through Apple's famed 'iTunes' music cataloging/burning software. Knowing Apple's penchant for ease-of-use and clean, solid design (combined with some hard-knuckle Steve Jobs negotiations with the recording industry), could a $.99 per song (or similar) service take off and bring legitimacy to downloaded music and acceptance from both the industry and users? If true, it's also good to see the consumer electronics industry taking some initiative and responsibility to provide solutions - not blame and accusations.
posted by tgrundke on Mar 4, 2003 - 61 comments

iTunes 2 was released recently. Some poor OS X users lost all their data after installing this seemingly innocuous software. (about a third of the way down)
Is being on the bleeding edge worth it? What responsibility does a software manufacturer have to prevent from damaging your data? Any other horror stories from installing just released software? Not bashing Apple, as I'm using a Mac myself.
posted by the biscuit man on Nov 5, 2001 - 25 comments

iWalk : Apple's new device is rumored to be a PDA/MP3 Player with a color screen and airport functionality. Never heard of spymac.com before, but this looks pretty legit. (contains photo)
posted by jragon on Oct 23, 2001 - 72 comments