Did Steve Jobs Save the Music Industry?
Tricia Bilbrey
Did Steve Jobs Save the Music Industry?
"We started out to get a computer in the hands of everyday people, and we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."-Steve Jobs
The year is 1999. In the year of Y2K the world of technology introduces the first iBook, Paypal surfaces. Amazon.com becomes the world’s largest book retailer and Shawn Flemming introduces Napster-the first free online music peer-to-peer file sharing service. The music industry would never be the same until Steve Jobs, CEO and founder of Apple computers saved the music industry.
Steve Jobs started making computers at age thirteen. (Encyclopedia of the History of American Management, 2006) His early interest in technology started him on a journey of a lifetime. His resume would include an internship with Hewlett Packard, an electronics technician for Atari, CEO/Founder Apple Computers, Chief Executive of Pixar Animation Studios and a member of the Board of Directors for the Walt Disney Company. (Encyclopedia of the History of American Management, 2006) His i-innovations; iMac, iPod, iTunes, and iPhones carried consumers into the next level of technology. (Encyclopedia of the History of American Management, 2006) Jobs, which referred to the computer as “a bicycle for the mind” (Goodell, 2003) had a vision to help the music industry compete with a new trend threatening album sales across the country. The trend was called file sharing and Napster was the enemy.
Napster surfaced in 1999. The goal was to allow users to share music files stored on their computers through a process called peer-to-peer file sharing. All that was needed to join in this process was an internet connection. Users created an account and had access to any song or album they wished without paying a dime. No need to go out and purchase a CD when we can download only the songs we like for free right to our home PC. Was