Apple Introduces iTunes — World’s Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO—January 9, 2001—Apple® today introduced iTunes, the world’s best and easiest to use “jukebox” software that lets users create and manage their own music library on their Mac®. iTunes lets Mac users import songs from their favorite CDs; compress them into the popular MP3 format and store them on their computer’s hard drive; organize their music using powerful searching, browsing and play list features; watch stunning visualizations on their computer screen; and burn their own audio CDs — all in one easy-to-use application. Exclusively for Mac users, iTunes is available as a free download from www.apple.com.

“Apple has done what Apple does best — make complex applications easy, and make them even more powerful in the process,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iTunes is miles ahead of every other jukebox application, and we hope its dramatically simpler user interface will bring even more people into the digital music revolution.”

As the ultimate way to manage digital music and create custom CDs, iTunes lets users:

  • import an unlimited number of audio tracks and encode them into the popular MP3 format;
  • accelerate the encoding process when working on Apple’s Power Mac™ G4 with Velocity Engine™;
  • organize their music collection using powerful but simple to use tools including a real-time search engine and single-click browsing by artist, album or genre;
  • listen to MP3s, audio CDs or hundreds of Internet radio stations;
  • watch a visual representation of the music being played, which is synched to the beat of the music;
  • create custom music CDs with the Power Mac G4’s new CD-RW and a combination CD-RW/DVD-R SuperDrive that reads and writes both CDs and DVDs in a simple, one-step process with no extra CD-burning software required; and
  • download songs to popular MP3 players from Rio and Creative Labs with plug-and-play simplicity with no extra software or complicated driver installations required.

Availability
iTunes is immediately available as a free download from www.apple.com for use with Macintosh systems introduced since August 1998. Users can burn their own CDs using the Power Mac G4’s new CD-RW or combination CD-RW/DVD-R SuperDrive. Mac OS™ 9.0.4 or Mac OS 9.1 is required for running iTunes. Both are available as free downloads at www.apple.com.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Press Contacts:
Alicia Awbrey
Apple
(408) 974-0922
awbrey@apple.com

Nicole Scott
Edelman Worldwide
(650) 968-4033 ext. 2746
nicole.scott@edelman.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR website (www.apple.com/pr/), or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

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