Well, I guess my point was that while there were some small label artists or lame "industry approved" and overexpensive storefronts (possibly only there to provide a counterargument for RIAA's persecution of music sharers), Apple's iTunes was the first "real" music store featuring artists from the Big 3: Sony, BMG, WEA and featuring a real product. Before iTunes, there wasn't a viable industry.

It's not like Apple came late to the party and through their evil use of DRM and monopoly somehow wrested control of the market from others - before them there wasn't a market.

Jeffrey.

On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 4:44 PM, Justin Dugger <jldugger@gmail.com> wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_music_store disagrees. Apple
didn't invent online music retailing. They were just the first group
able to negotiate with the big label cartels. Several others had tried
and had to go without. Napster famously ignored the labels and money
all together until it was too late (ironically, the pressplay Music
Store created afterwards was eventually used to relaunch Napster).

--

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine