The Apple iTunes music store opened for Mac users on April 28, 2003. iTunes for Windows was released a few months later in October 2003.
On July 11, 2008, Apple’s iTunes App store opened with 500 third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. By the end of 2009 there would be more than 100,000 applications available. The New York Times and Associated Press were two of the first iPhone news applications launched.
Here is an excerpt from the Apple press release announcing iTunes:
CUPERTINO, California — April 28, 2003 — Apple today launched the iTunes Music Store, a revolutionary online music store that lets customers quickly find, purchase and download the music they want for just 99 cents per song, without subscription fees. The iTunes Music Store offers groundbreaking personal use rights, including burning songs onto an unlimited number of CDs for personal use, listening to songs on an unlimited number of iPods, playing songs on up to three Macintosh computers, and using songs in any application on the Mac, including iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD.
“The iTunes Music Store offers the revolutionary rights to burn an unlimited number of CDs for personal use and to put music on an unlimited number of iPods for on-the-go listening,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Consumers don’t want to be treated like criminals and artists don’t want their valuable work stolen. The iTunes Music Store offers a groundbreaking solution for both.”
The following screenshot comes from a video of Steve Jobs introducing iTunes for Windows:
A story from CNET News:
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Computer on Monday unveiled its latest line of digital music products, including a long-awaited Internet music store and ultrathin versions of its popular iPod portable MP3 player.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the Moscone Convention center here and pronounced a new era for digital music consumption, saying that other online music services are either illegal or unattractive.
….The iTunes Music Store is launching with a library of 200,000 tracks, with participation from all five of the major record labels. In addition, the store will list exclusive tracks from 20 artists, including Bob Dylan and U2.
In this segment from his iTunes for Windows presentation, Jobs begins by talking about one his favorite musicians, Bob Dylan:
