How Apple accidentally destroyed the record business — and why I wish we'd stuck with iPods

A silhouetted figure from an iPod ad next to a grey iPod resting on a window sill.

50 years of Apple

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We're celebrating Apple's 50th birthday with a week of content about the tech giant. It covers everything from personal recollections from our writers to the greatest — and worst — Apple gadgets as voted by you, and you can read it all on our 50 years of Apple page.

In 2001, Apple completely changed music with three products: Macs with built-in SuperDrive CD burners; the iTunes music app; and the iPod. We didn't know it at the time, but those three products lit a fuse that would burn down the record business.