Steve Jobs takes the stage Wednesday at Apple's music event.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)SAN FRANCISCO--Though technically he returned to work two months ago, it was as the host of Wednesday's Apple music event that Steve Jobs publicly retook the reins of the company he founded.
Jobs was the first person to emerge on stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts here to open the now-annual September iPod introduction. Appearing notably thin, he received a prolonged standing ovation from the audience, much of it composed of members of the media, but also a range of guests including app developers, entertainers, and music industry types. Jobs quietly took in the applause and then began to speak fairly candidly about the well-known medical problems that kept him away from work for the first half of the year.
"I'm very happy to be here today with you all," he said. "As you may know, I had a liver transplant. So I have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash, and was generous enough to donate their organs. And I wouldn't be here without such generosity."
He used the moment to encourage more people to do the same, calling on everyone to be an organ donor. He also thanked everyone at Apple and the Apple community for the support he received while he was gone.
At that point, it wasn't yet clear whether this was a farewell or a welcome home event for Jobs. But it became very apparent soon after, when he thanked the man who had taken over day-to-day duties running Apple between January and June, COO Tim Cook, and all of the Apple executive team.
"They really ran the company very ably during that time," Jobs said. "So, I'm vertical, I'm back at Apple, and loving every day of it."
The statement was clearly Jobs' way of saying that he's reassumed full responsibility as the leader of his company. There had been speculation that, though he was back at work, if he did appear at the event Wednesday he would use it as a way to say goodbye and step into the background while a new successor began to be groomed. That was not what happened.
Jobs was the host of the entire 75-minute event, just as he always had been at similar events in years past. Though other executives joined him, including Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, and Jeff Robbin, lead iTunes software designer, it was clearly his show. He also revived two well-known trademarks of his public appearances: his outfit of black turtleneck, jeans, and white tennis shoes, and his "one more thing" phrase.
He also hinted there'd be more public appearances to come, signing off the event by thanking everyone for coming and promising, "See you all again soon."
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Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)
One of Apple's smaller announcements at Wednesday's music-focused event was that you'll be able to share your deepest iTunes hopes and dreams through Facebook and Twitter.
Well, more specifically, you'll have "Share on Facebook" and "Share on Twitter" options in a drop-down menu on album purchase pages in the iTunes Store to broadcast which music in which you're interested.
Basically, this means that you can show off your music taste or attempt to convince friends to buy albums for you. The links in Twitter tweets and Facebook posts will likely go straight to the option to purchase the album, potentially driving up sales.
An example of what you can get when you 'Share on Twitter.'
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)This is a pretty standard practice likely accomplished through implementation of the social sites' APIs rather than a formal partnership--the latter of which was probably required when Apple brought Facebook Connect to the iPhoto desktop software.
The more interesting part? It looks like this officially proves that an extremely dubious set of screenshots that hit the Web last month--showing buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and social-music site Last.fm integrated directly into the iTunes app--are indeed fake.
Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CBS Interactive, which publishes CNET News.
Apple wrapped the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts with its trademark iPod look Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday's music-related event at the San Francisco venue.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)After a long summer of swirling rumors, Apple's now-annual September music event is finally just around the corner.
It's happening Wednesday at 10 a.m. here in San Francisco, and CNET will have full, live-blogging coverage for you. I will be joined by CNET Reviews' Donald Bell, who will be offering his own commentary on all the music-related product announcements. What exactly that will be isn't a complete mystery, but Apple could have a few interesting surprises for us.
It looks like we won't be seeing a touch-screen tablet at this event, but there's plenty left to speculate about. The event, as per the invitation above, is obviously about iPods. Our money is on an updated iPod Touch with a camera, and ready-made ringtones. Plus, we've also heard that the new interactive album format--referred to as "Cocktail"--will also get a lot of play.
But what else? Some are saying there could be cameras in the iPod Nano as well, and even an update to the seemingly forgotten Apple TV. Then there's CEO Steve Jobs. Will he or won't he make an appearance? If he doesn't, the buzz about why he wasn't on hand, when he's been officially back at work since July, could threaten to get louder than whatever his stand-in does end up announcing.
We'll be there to chronicle it all, of course, so be sure to come back to CNET News Wednesday at 10 a.m. PDT.
As expected, Apple has officially confirmed that it will host an event next Wednesday, September 9.
Invitations went out Monday. The music-themed event in San Francisco will be held at 10 a.m. at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which is next door to Moscone Center, where Apple's much-larger Worldwide Developers Conference takes place every June.
Apple's invitation for next week's event.
(Credit: Apple)Based on the image of the classic iPod advertisement art and the tag line, "It's only rock 'n roll, but we like it," this will be the company's annual music-focused event. Apple has hosted a new product introduction of its iPods every September for the past few years, and this year doesn't look to be any different. Besides new iPod Touch models, Apple is also expected to discuss its new interactive album format, known as Cocktail.
Because the date is a Wednesday, as opposed to Apple's traditional preference for events on Tuesdays, it's possible there could finally be an announcement regarding a Beatles catalog coming to iTunes. September 9 is also the day The Beatles' remastered digital albums and Rock Band video game will be released.
CNET News will be live-blogging the event, so be sure to come back for our full coverage.
For the past several years, Apple has gathered in September to launch its newest iPod products for the holiday-shopping season.
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Apple)
Rumors have been circling for some time that Apple would refresh its iPod lineup this fall--and that cameras would be coming to the iPod Nano and iPod Touch models. And a September 9 event is all but confirmed. A Wednesday report by AppleInsider "can independently confirm" from "people familiar with the matter" the date and the expected iPod updates.
AppleInsider didn't cite sources for the rumor confirmations but said it "has it on authority." Along with Boy Genius Report and other rumor sites, AppleInsider has also speculated that iTunes 9 will debut in September and add social networking to the music organizer, among other changes.
A new digital-album format is also expected to debut in September. Code-named Cocktail, Apple's new album format is rumored to include photos, lyric sheets, liner notes, and clips from music videos.
It also seems clear at this point is that an Apple tablet will not make its debut during the September event.
Faced with heat from iTunes and other digital downloads, the nearly-three-decade-old music CD is slowly melting away.
iTunes-purchased songs now account for 25 percent of the overall music market--both physical and digital--in the U.S., says an NPD Group report released Tuesday. However, CDs are still the most popular format for music lovers, winning a 65 percent slice of the market for the first half of 2009.
An iTunes playlist
(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney)Digital music downloads have jumped in recent years, said NPD, hitting 35 percent of the overall market for the first half of this year, compared with 30 percent last year and 20 percent in 2007.
For the first half of 2009, iTunes itself snagged a 69 percent share of the overall digital music arena, trailed far behind by Amazon.com with 8 percent.
"The growth of legal digital music downloads, and Apple's success in holding that market, has increased iTunes's overall strength in the retail music category," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD Group.
The CD, though, marches on. Among CD retailers, Wal-Mart leads with a 20 percent chunk of the physical music market, said NPD. Best Buy took a 16 percent share, followed by Target and Amazon at 10 percent each.
Still, the days of the CD seem numbered.
"Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said Crupnick. "But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010."
Correction at 3:30 p.m.: The venerable audio CD is actually 27 years old.
It looks like the annual Apple music event will be held on September 9 this year, according to AllThingsD.
Though it had been reported earlier that the event would take place sometime that week, a source now tells AllThingsD that the exact date will be September 9, and that it will focus on music, meaning no tablet announcement.
If the date is correct, holding an event on a Wednesday would be a departure from Apple's habit of holding these types of events on Tuesdays. The date also gives more credence to the rumor that it might be the day when the Beatles catalog at long last comes to iTunes. September 9 has already been announced as the day that the music of Fab Four will make its debut on the video game Rock Band.
CNET News reported last week that the September event will be music-focused, and will include an introduction of a new digital album format from Apple, called Cocktail. Apple is also expected to unveil changes to its iPod lineup.
The event's main speaker is still unclear, though it would be a prime opportunity for CEO Steve Jobs to make his first public appearance since returning to full-time work. If the Beatles are involved, it's hard to see how Jobs couldn't be present.
Apple and the major record labels are teaming up to create bundles of interactive features to accompany music downloads, according to the Financial Times.
The project, code-named "Cocktail," has Apple collaborating with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music Group with an eye toward a September launch date, the U.K. newspaper said on its FT.com site early Monday, sourcing the information to unnamed people familiar with the situation. Apple is known for making iPod- and iTunes-related announcements at September events.
Under the purported plan, people going to Apple's iTunes store to download music would also be able to get an interactive bundle that includes material such as liner notes, lyric sheets, and photos, according to the Financial Times. The "interactive book" would let users play songs without having to return to the iTunes software, the story said.
The goal, apparently, is to spark sales of digital albums, with a nod to the music-listening habits of a bygone era. While Apple has long sold albums over iTunes, the online music store is renowned for the fervor with which customers download single tracks. Apple already makes album cover art available through the Cover Flow feature in iTunes.
"It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," said an executive cited by the Financial Times.
In 2008, according to industry tracker Nielsen, consumers bought over 1 billion digital tracks, compared with just 65 million digital albums. In both cases, the numbers were up significantly from the preceding year. All told, however, the number of albums sold in 2008--including CDs, LPs, and digital albums--fell 14 percent to 428 million.
The Financial Times article also touched on recent reports that have Apple working on a tablet device. The FT.com story says that such a device, possibly equipped with a 10-inch-diagonal touch screen, could be ready in time for the holiday shopping season.
Correction 5/18: Gracenote was incorrectly listed as a partner of Shazam.
Earlier this week, a company called Tune Hunter accused music-finding service Shazam as well as a host of consumer electronics makers, wireless service operators, and digital music retailers of infringing on its patent on a music identification system.
Shazam is named along with Samsung, Apple, Amazon.com, Napster, Motorola, Gracenote, Verizon Wireless, LG Electronics, AT&T Mobility, and Pantech Wireless in a suit filed Tuesday over U.S. Patent No. 6,941,275, which was issued to Remi Swierczek/Tune Hunter in September 2005. The suit accuses Shazam's music discovery and identification service of violating the patent and the other companies of benefiting directly from Shazam's alleged infringement. Tune Hunter is asking for unspecified damages and an injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Texas that would prevent "further infringement" on Tune Hunter's patent.
Tune Hunter's patent covers "a music identification/purchasing system, specifically to a method for marking the time and the name of the radio station in portable device such as a key holder, watch, cellular phone, beeper or the like which will allow the user to learn via internet or regular telephone the name of the song, artist and/or music company by matching the stored data with broadcast archive."
Shazam is available on several different mobile devices. It is a popular iPhone application sold through Apple's App Store, which "listens" to songs and identifies them. Samsung is a partner with London-based Shazam on a mobile music store. Amazon.com is a retail partner of Shazam. Gracenote is a competitor.
Shazam was founded in 2002 in London and says by the end of the year its service will be available on 250 million devices.
Shazam, AT&T, Apple, and Gracenote each said they had no comment on the suit, and Samsung and Verizon had not yet heard about it.
Shazam is also available on many platforms not named in the lawsuit, including Research In Motion's BlackBerry, Facebook, and Android-based phones like T-Mobile's G1.
CNET News reporters Maggie Reardon and Greg Sandoval contributed to this story.
The Downward Spiral, the Nine Inch Nails album that caused Trent Reznor's big rant against Apple.
Well, Apple has finally approved an update to the official iPhone app for industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails, after previously rejecting it due to objectionable content pertaining to the band's 1994 album "The Downward Spiral." No changes were made from the rejected version
Maybe Apple relented just to shut up NIN frontman Trent Reznor, whose bloggy rant against Apple was pretty much the equivalent of trashing Steve Jobs' hotel room. Not only did he tell Apple to "think your policies through and for f***'s sake get your app approval scenario together," good heavens, he compared Apple to Wal-Mart!
But he had a point. Apple's commitment to standards of decency in the App Store has been schizophrenic at best: it yanked the otherwise harmless "I Am Rich," a moderately hilarious ploy at making well-moneyed doofuses cough up $1,000, but approved the disturbing "Baby Shaker" until a flurry of press saw it taken down. Don't even get me started on fart apps.
But fans of Reznor rage needn't worry. The rocker has plenty of other beefs with the evolving digital music industry, particularly when it comes to experimental online retail. And he's got that five-word Webby Awards speech to look forward to. Let's hope he chooses his words well.
