There were a lot of different mp3 players on the market, each one trying to be the next big thing, and being able to have a single device have all your music was such a game changer at the time.

The way I remember the iPod though, and having it launch along with iTunes actually played a big role in steering music back away from piracy. So while it did help make pirate easy and popular, it also adapted in the end where most other players/companies did not