Check this out: [8.4.2010 5792261] Notice of Copyright Infringement

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

It has nothing to do with iPod.

And FTR, iTunes saved Apple's ass, not the other way around. The iTunes service wasn't even conceived by an Apple employee.

One way or another, there was a market wide open for a digital distribution service. BMG offered a monthly subscription service at the beginning of the decade (as did a few others) but no one trusted the record companies.

Rhapsody was another that didn't catch on. Don't pretend like there weren't other companies out there competing to a digital distributor. Napster even went legit and shortly went out of business.

Apple has a trustworthy name, which is huge part of why their system worked and works. Same for Amazon. I've only bought from the iTunes store once and hated the quality and the experience. Since then, I've only ordered from Amazon because I prefer 256kbs mp3 files over the 128 aac format.

Regardless, your "argument" is weak and invalid in 2010. If you can't afford .99 cents for a song or $8.99 for Netflix or $1 for Redbox, you've got much bigger problems in life.

I agree that Itunes saved Apple.

The difference with alot of those other services is that they didn't have all the major record labels in 1 place. People don't want to use 5 different services to find music. They want 1 simple place. That is why napster was so popular and Itunes is as well. I haven't used Amazon so I can't speak for it but I will check them out.

I wasn't trying to make any argument about piracy or defend it other than to say that one of the main reasons why it exploded is because the music industry was clueless.