Photo: Grammy
February 12, 2012: Months after his untimely death, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is being honored with a special Grammy Award for his contributions to music through the iPod and iTunes Music Store.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, accepts the Grammy on behalf of the Jobs family and “everyone at Apple.”
Steve Jobs won a Grammy
“Steve was a visionary, a mentor and a very close friend,” Cue said during his acceptance speech at the Trustees Grammy for his late boss. “I’ve had the incredible honor of working with him for the past 15 years. Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him. He told us that music shaped his life, made him who he was. Anyone who knows Steve knows the profound impact artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles had on him.”
“Steve’s focus was on bringing music to everyone in an innovative way. We talked about it every day. When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked, ‘Why does Apple make a music player?’ His answer was simple: ‘We love music and it’s always good to do something you love.’ His family and I know that this Grammy would be very special to him, so thank you for honoring him today.”
Celebrating Apple’s contribution to the music industry
Jobs’ death on October 5, 2011, caused a massive outpouring of public grievance, the likes of which are rarely seen in a company executive. The way he helped bridge the gap between technology and the humanities made him especially relevant to the Grammy crowd.
Apple shook up the music industry because everything went digital. The iTunes Music Store was launched in 2003. In February 2010, it became the largest music seller in the world.
“iTunes is the world’s largest music retailer and offers the world’s largest music catalog with more than 12 million songs,” Apple said in a 2010 press release.
Steve Jobs’ posthumous Grammy win in 2012 marked the second time The Recording Academy honored him and his company’s achievements. Apple received a Technical Grammy Award in 2002 for “Outstanding Technical Contribution to the Music and Recording Industry”.
Remember Steve Jobs’ Grammys? What do you think is Apple’s biggest contribution to the music industry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
