Apple is #2 at Something Again

You know, I’ve long maintained that the most amazing thing Apple has pulled out of its hat isn’t any of its lovely desktop or laptop computers, not it’s operating system, not any of the nonstop stream of iPods, not the Apple Stores, and not the iPhone.

It’s iTunes.  ‘Twas announced today that iTunes is now the #2 music retailer in the world.  (Behind Wal-Mart.  Which sucks, because I’m ready for iTunes to be #1.  Wal-Mart carries a crappy, streamlined, force-fed selection of music appropriate only for fans of top 40, pop, and country-western music. No, no, and no.)  iTunes will pass Wal-Mart eventually.

iTunes is the key.  These iPods would be nothing without iTunes.  Apple stores are pretty, but they are still stores, and we have lots of those.  Their computers are loved, and the operating system works great — Mac operating share has, after all, skyrocketed to a whopping 8%, remember?!  And the iPhone?  Well, super cool.  Call me when it works on every mobile carrier.

But to me iTunes is where it’s at.  I still hate the DRM restrictions, and they must eventually go away.  Not because I want to steal from artists, but because my iPod hard drive failed so many times (I know, I’ve said this before), and because I’ve switched computers a couple times, I lost access to bunch of MY songs.  Songs I bought.  On iTunes.

iTunes is fun to shop.  It’s simple.  My mom and my son both know how to use iTunes. The selection is awesome.  I think Amazon might have the capacity to give them a run, but if they ever catch up it will take quite awhile.  And by then iTunes will be well-established and still in a good place.

So congratulations, Apple, on the continued success of iTunes.  It doesn’t keep breaking on me, it keeps me coming back, it’s oft-imitated yet not yet matched.  Is that really so hard?