Well, the iPod came out in 2001, and was already a huge phenomenon when the iTunes Music Store launched in (I believe) 2005.
So you can't give all the credit for why the iPod succeeded to something that didn't exist for those crucial first 4 years.
So you can't give all the credit for why the iPod succeeded to something that didn't exist for those crucial first 4 years.
Initial models didn't even have USB or Windows support, remember. Incidentally, that came around the same time.
The iPod didn't sell all that well until 2004. It's no coincidence that was after Windows support and the iTunes Store.
Most people were skipping the rip part or digitizing old stuff. iTunes gave the music people their dream: go buy everything again.