It is only a question of time before he is pronounced a saint too

I can't say is he has contributed to music by, err, writing any or being creative in that fashion. He has, however, shown the music industry how to do digital distribution. The fact that none of the big music names had the foresight to create the MP3/music store ecosystem that Apple run shows how Blu ed than backward facing they are.

I immediately think of Sony. Inventor of the Walkman, they had a brand that should have moved seamlessly into the digital domain. They faltered with the MiniDisc format, budged themselves into a corner with the ATRAC format and basically sat staring it it's own navel.

This award is not just a recognition of Apple's success, it's a big fat headstone for the music industry. They should have done this before Apple decided to repurpose iTunes into an online store. They didn't, preferring CDs and territory based markets. And to a major extent, they still do.

IMO he's contributed [LIFTED] all to music!

The natural stance would be to say, what the [LIFTED] has he ever done for music, but a couple of days ago, I was looking for some Christmas music and I managed to buy three albums of about 100 songs in a few minutes using my phone. That's pretty [LIFTED] sweet. If I was in the music industry, I'd worship the ground he walked on.

The music industry hated his guts because he forced them to do things they didn't want to (i.e. sell music to customers in a way the customers wanted it rather than the way they wanted to sell it). I'd imagine a lot of musicians were fairly happy he got involved. However my personal opinion is somebody would have eventually done what he did if he hadn't. The commercial pressure was always going to be there, it was a question of who spotted it and took advantage of it. That turned out to be Jobs. The fact the music industry didn't get there first is just an illustration of how utterly clueless most music industry executives actually are.

So, maybe his contribution was positive overall. And maybe we got to where we are a little sooner than we would have done if he hadn't been there. But I'm not sure his contribution was anything more than being in the right place at the right time with the right mindset. That's a very nice thing, but does it really deserve an award?

Jon

look for your rewards in heaven

A classic example of what happens when someone dies. Alive the music industry hated his guts and despised him. Once he dies the beatification starts and he is a hero.

I thought that must be a made up portmanteau word; a deification remix with beats... but yeah. I guess if the iPod is a miracle and everyone worships him, then that's the actual word to describe it.