Posted on 04/21/2003 6:43:19 AM PDT by new cruelty
Apple Computer Inc. informed MacCentral by special invitation Monday morning of an event the company will hold in San Francisco on Monday, April 28, 2003. While the invitation was not specific on exactly what the company would announce at the event, it did narrow down the possibilities.
The invitation says that Apple will have "announcements that will be music to your ears." Apple has several music products, but speculation over the past couple of weeks has focused on three things: a new iPod; a buyout by Apple of Universal Music; and a new music service by Apple.
News of Apple's interest in Universal Music Group first broke on April 11 with speculation that the company would make a $5 billion to $6 billion bid for the music business by the end of April. Apple was supposedly making the bid to fuel the company's as yet unannounced music service, which makes downloading and purchasing music as simple and non-technical as buying a book from Amazon.com, according to people that have used the service.
The confirmation and subsequent retraction by Vivendi Director Claude Bebear, who reportedly said that Apple "will probably make an offer" for Universal Music Group, promoted Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, to issue a statement last week.
"Apple has never made any offer to invest in or acquire a major music company," said Jobs in the statement. "The press statements this morning attributed to Vivendi board member Claude Bebear are untrue, as Mr. Bebear has confirmed in a later report. Beyond these comments, we will abide by Apple's policy of not commenting on rumors."
Of course, the iPod MP3 player would be a big part of any Apple branded music service if Apple decided to launch it. For now, we will have to wait until April 28 to see what Apple will unveil.
Apple has released several products during special events in recent years including the iPod, iBook and the company's rackmount server, the Xserve.
I think, despite Jobs' denials, that some venture with Universal Music, combined with a product/service release is in the works. Jobs is the sort of guy who would love to "go Hollywood" and rub elbows with glamorous music stars.
Hasn't Jobs already "rubbed elbows" with the entertainment industry already through the Pixar company? After all, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and the upcoming Finding Nemo are very successful and profitable films, much to the annoyance to Disney who have distributed these five films. I have this feeling that Disney may just buy out Pixar within the next year and put Jobs on the Disney Board of Directors.
You are right. He is a player through Pixar. That doesn't mean he wouldn't like mo' fame, and contact with live stardom in addition to his contact with the movie producer/moguls.
I look forward to Apple's announcement.
That's a good idea. I think I'll do that. I can't tell you how frustrating an experience I've had with my Dell. The freezing problem is a chronic one that began almost out of the box. And don't get me started on Dell tech support.
Only a phone call away from India :-)
Ain't that the truth. I remember one conversation with a tech who called herself "Mary" who had an accent so thick I could barely understand her. It would have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating.
Dell kept telling me it was because I hadn't updated my BIOS and video drivers. Which doesn't explain why it began happening less than a month after I bought the computer and continues to happen even though I update everything regularly.
Jobs owns a majority stake in Pixar, so Disney can't buy the company without his agreement. Given Jobs' experience being ousted by Apple's board years ago, he's unlikely to agree to any acquisition of Pixar where that might happen again. Besides, Pixar is successful enough these days that it no longer needs Disney to ensure good distribution.
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