Nope. Apple still exists because they were the first ones to sell digital media players that weren't a DRM clusterfuck (Zune), had actual storage capacity, battery life and sound quality. The iPod saved Apple - at a point, it contributed 40% of revenue and with the iPod Touch and iPhone's jailbreaks proving demand for apps, it paved the way to the endless cash cow that is the App Store.
DRM-free didn't happen until after the iphone [0]
iPod was a better product with better marketing, but it was not freer (libre) than its competition. (Personally I liked my creative Zen with Yahoo unlimited subscription [1]- DRM was a feature! Spotify wouldn't come along for another 5 or 6 years)
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jan/06/apple-dro...
To me, It’s the reason Apple made it. When family bought apple stuff it tended to function. When they bought windows or dells or sandisk media players stuff they tended to have it unplugged on its side and a screw driver in one hand and a phone in the other.
AirPods alone are worth $50B. They are just easier to use with devices than the bluetooth devices I owned previously.