Listen Com Inc

Apple Computer Inc. unveils its online music service today -- an initiative that can either give a much-needed boost to the beleaguered record industry or become immediately irrelevant. Cloaked in secrecy, Apple's highly anticipated service has generated a healthy buzz among record label executives and music fans.

If Apple Computer Inc. winds up with a blockbuster deal to purchase Universal Music Group, it will be because Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs believes he has discovered the secret to selling music online -- something that has eluded the sharpest minds in the music and technology industries for years and ruined many entrepreneurs before him.