October 31, 2005: Lower than three weeks after launching video downloads with iTunes 6, Apple reveals that it has already bought greater than 1 million music movies.
Apple’s dive into the net digital video market — with 2,000 music movies, Pixar brief movies and a collection of hit TV reveals for $1.99 — seems just like the logical subsequent step after promoting particular person songs on iTunes. Passing the 1 million obtain benchmark so shortly suggests the plan is a roaring success.
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iTunes video: A logical step
As with a lot of what Apple has finished over time, the transfer to start out promoting TV reveals and different video content material got here on the good time. YouTube was nonetheless in its infancy (therefore individuals really paid cash for music movies). Nonetheless, elevated high-speed web entry lastly made video streaming attainable for odd customers.
I obtained my first broadband connection round this time. Beforehand, something greater than downloading a brief video clip proved completely unfeasible. Getting broadband was like being blasted into the longer term.
Apple’s lengthy embrace of video
The iTunes video launch in 2005 appeared like a pure match for Apple. The corporate has a protracted historical past of letting customers watch movies on their machines. Way back to the Eighties, Apple experimented with demos, like Steve Perlman’s QuickScan, that allowed video playback to run on a Mac. In 1991, Apple launched Mac customers to QuickTime, which served because the standardized digital video software for a very long time.
By 2005, Apple was working towards a future during which it will produce cell units capable of assist video. This was essential if downloading music movies and different materials was going to dwell as much as its potential — simply because the iPod had been key to iTunes music downloads.
iPod Traditional with video is ideal match for iTunes
In October 2005, Apple launched the fifth-gen iPod Traditional, with a larger-than-ever display screen. This launched video playback to the music participant for the primary time. In response to the biography Turning into Steve Jobs, the Apple chief pitched new Disney CEO Bob Iger on the concept of opening up his reveals to digital distribution by exhibiting him the brand new video iPod.
“Would you contemplate placing your TV reveals on this?” Jobs requested. Iger answered within the affirmative with out lacking a beat.
In the end, Apple secured offers to promote downloads of hit footwear like Determined Housewives, Misplaced and Gray’s Anatomy. The music video choices merged this new concentrate on video with Apple’s present offers with report labels. Movies by artists like Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim and Kanye West helped push iTunes previous the 1 million downloads mark.
All about context
As we speak, when prime YouTubers and TikTokers rating tens of millions of views inside days, and music movies hit the “Billion View Membership” sooner than ever, the concept that Apple would put out a press launch to crow about notching 1 million music video downloads appears astonishingly quaint. Nonetheless, on the time it was huge information. This early success additionally laid the muse for Apple increasing into an entire new space of enterprise.
Right here within the 2020s, Apple goes past merely distributing video. With Apple TV+, the corporate now produces its personal TV reveals and flicks. The streaming service contains a plethora of reveals commissioned by Cupertino, all for $9.99 a month. It presently captures an estimated 8% of the U.S. streaming market. Whether or not Apple TV+ in the end beats Netflix or not, it began for Apple again in 2005.
Do you keep in mind the primary music video or TV present you downloaded utilizing iTunes? Go away your feedback under.
