CGMagazine
Alex Handziuk

This Sunday, music making software Garage Band is celebrating its 15th birthday which makes now the perfect time to look back on its journey.

The app was announced back in 2004 at Macworld, which was the name for Apple’s annual conference at the time. For the reveal, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was joined onstage by musician John Mayer, who took viewers through the music making process while also providing a sort of live concert along the way.

Since then, the app has been used by a variety of professional musicians including T-Pain, Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, Usher, Duran Duran, and Kendrick Lamar to make some of their biggest hits. It’s also been used as an educational tool, helping younger people get into music creation for the first time.

According to Apple, the company created Garage Band in order to “help democratize music making for everyone,” and it has certainly been popular over the years. Since its launch, Garage Band has been downloaded over a billion times, making it the most widely used music app in the world.

Below is a timeline of Garage Band’s major highlights over the years.

• January 2004:  GarageBand debuted at Macworld by Steve Jobs with John Mayer
• April 2005:  NIN release “The Hand That Feeds” as GarageBand project file that fans can remix
• December 2005:  T-Pain creates his first album, “Rappa Ternt Sanga” in GarageBand for Mac
• March 2007:  Rihanna “Umbrella” built with GarageBand bundled drum loop “Vintage Funk Kit 03”
• March 2007:  Fall Out Boy records “Thnks fr th Mmrs” in GarageBand for Mac
• November 2007:  Duran Duran releases GarageBand version of “Nite-Runner” that fans can remix
• February 2008:  Usher “Love in This Club” built with GarageBand bundled synth loop “Euro Hero Synth 02”
• February 2008:  Ting Tings record “Great DJ” on GarageBand for Mac
• April 2008:  Radiohead release “Nude” as GarageBand project file that fans can remix
• 2008:  It Might Get Loud documentary shows Edge from U2 using GarageBand on his laptop
• 2009: Learn to Play and Artist Lessons announced on GarageBand for Mac
• May 2009:  St. Vincent creates “Actor” album in GarageBand
• March 2011:  GarageBand for iPad announced 
• November 2011:  GarageBand for iPhone announced
• October 2013”. GarageBand 10 for Mac with new design announced 
• August 2014:  Haim records “My Song 5” in GarageBand
• June 2015:  Marc Maron interviews President Obama in a podcast recorded in his garage using GarageBand for Mac
• January 2016:  Live Loops feature added to GarageBand for iOS
• May 2016:  GarageBand for Greater China announced with traditional Chinese instruments
• April 2017:  Steve Lacey produces the Kendrick Lamar song “PRIDE” using GarageBand for iOS

Apple recently released version 10.3.2 of Garage Band, and the service shows no signs of slowing down, even as it enters its teenage years.

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