On November 16, Apple and Steve Jobs made the announcement millions of music fans had been waiting for years: The Beatles catalog—13 studio albums—would be available on the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs, a Beatles fan, said it fulfills a dream he’s had since the iTunes store launched ten years ago.
On Monday, November 15, Apple took down all product promotions and images from its homepage and replaced it with a simple, but perplexing sentence that teased its customers: “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.” It also listed the time of the announcement.
On Tuesday, November 16, as soon as the announcement was made, Apple replaced the sentence with one photograph of the Beatles. The headline read: The Beatles. Now on iTunes.
As I discuss in Chapter 10 of The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs (Say No to 1,000 Things), very few companies have courage to eliminate clutter. Most companies would have added the news to an already cluttered and confusing Web site. Nobody considers reducing. Apple does and that’s why it’s different.
This philosophy—eliminating the clutter—applies to everything Apple does: product design, packaging, Web site, and communications. Simplicity is the one of the key reasons Apple has been able to create breakthrough, elegant, and innovative products that brings joy its customers.
Read more about the 7 principles behind Steve Jobs’ success in the new book, The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Available today on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
Dear Carmine,
Wow, thank you so much for sharing such insightful interpretation of Mr. Jobs and Apple. I am very inspired and for that I am grateful to you.
Best regards,
Kelly Daggett