But that was the mid-2000s – a lifetime ago in the tech industry. After years of declining sales, the US tech giant announced on May 10 it was stopping production after 21 years.
Against this background, Apple managed to persuade record company bosses to sanction the sale of individual tracks for US$0.99 . “People are now spending money in ways they weren’t before,” said Bourreau, highlighting money from streaming.But the writing was on the wall for the iPod as early as 2007 when Jobs launched the iPhone.