Music History

It Was 15 Years Ago This Week That Apple Introduced a Thing Called the “iPod”

The world was still in a serious 9/11 funk on October 23, 2001, when Steve Jobs took to the stage to introduce Apple’s new portable music player. Jobs had been back at Apple for a couple of years, slashing product lines and refocusing the company on new products.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the iPod not only save Apple but helped it become the most valuable company in the world. The device sold 125,000 units before the end of the year and was selling nearly 55 million a year by 2008. (Good move making it Windows compatible, yes?) Since then, though, the iPhone has cannibalized iPod sales and while Apple still sells them, they barely report on how many they move.

Come back with me to October 23, 2001, when Steve introduced what would soon become the must-have gadget of the century.

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38011 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

One thought on “It Was 15 Years Ago This Week That Apple Introduced a Thing Called the “iPod”

  • It still bums me out that they cancelled the 160GB iPod Classic. I have one that I use constantly in my truck and when I’m out on the mountain bike. I even bought a spare when I heard they were done. Just hoping the tech doesn’t change so much that they become completely incompatible with vehicles and iTunes.

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