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iTunes and its Store through the years

Apple's iTunes Store turns 10 years old this weekend. Here's a quick look at some of the major changes to the store, and to the slightly older iTunes software.

James Martin
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
James Martin
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iTunes 1.0

Apple's first run at a jukebox, which appeared in 2001, was the result of acquiring a company called SoundJam.

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More iTunes

The early iteration of iTunes, with its now slightly confusing and broken up interface for browsing music, was hailed at the time for its otherwise simple layout of buttons and virtual knobs, and for its brushed aluminum aesthetic.

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Something missing

But there was something missing...

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An early library view

A few updates later, Apple added all sorts of ways to organize music, including smart playlists.

Apple's first run at the iTunes Store.
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Enter the Store

To solve the issue of where people would actually get music if they weren't just ripping CDs, Apple made its first run at the iTunes Store, unveiling the virtual marketplace in 2003.

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Explaining the Store

The iTunes Store was a big deal because it was directly integrated into Apple's iTunes software, meaning users didn't need to leave the software to hunt down songs.

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500 million songs sold

People snapped up songs. The iTunes Store passed the 500 million milestone in 2005, when Amy Greer of Lafayette, Ind., purchased Faith Hill's "Mississippi Girl" -- and won a golden ticket from Apple: 10 iPods, a gift card for 10,000 songs, and an all-paid trip for four to a concert by Coldplay. Customers of the iTunes Store have since downloaded more than 25 billion tracks.

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iTunes Store jumps to iPhones, iPods

One of the first big steps in making iPhones and iPods more independent from computers was adding a Wi-Fi iTunes Store right on the devices. Apple has since made the Store work on cellular networks too, letting people download music and apps on the go.

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Deep iTunes software integration

Over the years, Apple has tried all sorts of ways to further integrate the iTunes Store into its iTunes Software. One such effort was a sidebar that would check out what you already had in your iTunes library and offer suggestions for other music you might like (and might purchase by way of the Store).

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iTunes Store goes big

In successive versions of the iTunes Store, Apple retooled the look and the feel of the interface, but the layout has generally remained the same.

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iTunes 11

With iTunes 11, Apple made the store almost identical on desktop and mobile devices.

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New design and better nav

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