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Apple Considering Dramatic Overhaul of iTunes to Address Declining Music Downloads

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple is considering a dramatic overhaul of its iTunes music store as iTunes Radio has failed to stop declining music downloads, reports Billboard. As reported earlier this year, the company may create an on-demand music streaming service similar to Spotify in order to boost sales as well as an Android iTunes app.

itunes_radio_hero2-800x449.jpg
"iTunes Radio hasn't solved the problem of refreshing the iTunes store," said a senior label executive. "While listeners are clicking the buy buttons, the traffic it is driving is in the low single digits of listeners."
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Only one to two percent of iTunes Radio listeners go on to buy songs and digital music sales were down some 5.7 percent in 2013, according to a January report. Overall music downloads have been declining upwards of 15 percent while iTunes is also losing money to competitors like YouTube, Spotify, and Pandora.

iTunes still accounts for upwards of 40 percent of U.S. music sales revenue and iTunes Radio is the third largest music streaming service after Pandora and iHeartRadio, but it has not thus far generated the sales that Apple expected.

According to the report, Apple's options for improving iTunes are being debated internally and among the company's content partners as it works to overcome competition from Android and an increasing consumer preference for streaming music services.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Apple is losing its most valuable customers. "Two-thirds of its high-value customers are now in subscription services," said one source. "That has been an eye-opener for them."
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While iTunes Radio allows users to create radio stations based on song selections, an on-demand service similar to Spotify would potentially allow users to select songs at will and could carry a monthly fee. iTunes Radio is available for free and supported by ads, with Apple also making its iTunes Match service available to customers.

With an on-demand subscription service, Apple could supply all music models customers are interested in, offering a la carte downloads via iTunes, free music via iTunes Radio, and a premium on-demand service. According to one music executive, Apple has radical plans for iTunes in store, which could lead to a "completely different" experience in three to five years.

Article Link: Apple Considering Dramatic Overhaul of iTunes to Address Declining Music Downloads
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/09/apple-considering-itunes-overhaul/
roland.g

roland.g

macrumors 604
Apr 11, 2005
7,414
3,152
Maybe they need to reach out to today's artists and get them to make some better music. :cool:
 
tarproductions

tarproductions

macrumors member
Mar 27, 2010
98
1
San Diego, CA
I thought iTunes Radio was created so I didn't have to buy songs? I've listened to endless amounts of iTunes Radio and only purchased one (maybe two) songs.
 
M

milo

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2003
6,891
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I don't know why they'd expect streaming to drive sales. The main appeal of streaming is that people can hear the music without having to buy it, why pay when you can get it somewhere (and now somewhere legal) for free?
 
O

omenatarhuri

macrumors 6502a
Feb 9, 2010
898
831
iMerik said:
Apple has certainly let the music world zoom past them in terms of subscription services.
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That said, the music subscription services hardly make money at all, whereas Apple is still winning (money-wise) with the old business model.

...And that said, I've paid probably over 100 euros to Spotify and bought maybe 3 songs from Apple. I just find monthly payment for unlimited listening is my thing, like it for so many other people today.

I'd be happy to replace Netflix and Spotify with a combined offering from Apple though.
 
bushido

bushido

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Mar 26, 2008
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including "on-demand" streaming to the iTunes Match subscription would be neat :D until then ... spotify it is. my iTunes usage has declined a lot since ive discovered Spotify
 
redscull

redscull

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2010
849
832
Texas
Or maybe don't charge $1.29 per song?

I can pay $0.99 for an app that'll entertain me some hours or a $1.29 for a song that's 3 minutes long. It's just not a good deal.
 
robanga

robanga

macrumors 68000
Aug 25, 2007
1,657
1
Oregon
3-5 years is an eternity in web business. I have all but left Pandora in favor of Google Music and Spotify. Even though i get the non-add supported version of ITunes Radio, i have not found it as friendly as the other two.
 
keterboy

keterboy

Guest
Jan 22, 2014
152
0
Earth's Core
Ill happily change to Apple's streaming service once they offer Spotify like quality.

It would be even better for me since i have songs on iTunes that are not available on Spotify, and it sucks switching between the two apps all the time.

Maybe Apple should acquire them? Just an idea... :apple:
 
polterbyte

polterbyte

macrumors 6502
Sep 24, 2012
353
538
Brazil
I don't find this decline surprising at all.

I believe music streaming services, with the convenience and ubiquity they offer, combined with the ever growing presence of cheap (or free) broadband access, combined with the new generation's disinterest in "owning" music will do a lot more "damage" than what we see today.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
One thing that iTunes needs is a Shopping Cart. Where I can select songs from various artists, or even TV shows and movies and then when I'm done selecting, purchase them all at once.

I don't like having to buy individual songs across artists or albums one at a time. Once it caused my CC to get blocked because I made several disparate purchases within a few minutes.
 
0

0160033

Cancelled
Feb 12, 2012
43
55
I'll buy more music from iTunes if they start selling ALAC-encoded .m4a files. I can stream AAC quality. If I am going to throw money down for something, I want it to be an improvement over the free stuff.
 
J

jakeOSX

macrumors regular
Mar 24, 2005
123
31
the problem they have is amazon for me. when i can get the actual cd for the same price as the iTunes album (or even within $2) with Auto-rip, so i can listen now, it isn't really a competition.

lower the price. the product is lacking.
 
S

sabbadoo32

macrumors newbie
Apr 6, 2014
1
0
Emusic Has Better Pricing

I love the iTunes Store, and buy a lot of movies there. But music-wise, EMusic is a better deal. I could take the same money I give to Emusic and it doesn't go near as far as iTunes.
 
taptic

taptic

macrumors 65816
Dec 5, 2012
1,341
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California
Oh yeah! This is great! Let's make an Android version, a Windows Phone version, and a zune version of iTunes so that nobody even has any reason to get an iPhone anymore!

Gotta love Apple marketing!
 
W

wizard

macrumors 68040
May 29, 2003
3,854
571
I've never understood the strong need many have to own music.

Seriously when you can turn a radio on, hook into a streaming service or whatever is new and enjoy fresh content, why buy?

By the way I don't want to dismiss the value of following a favorite artist with owned music. What I'm getting at is the value of owning for general listening. Life is just easier when you tune to your favorite channel.
 
jrswizzle

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
roland.g said:
Maybe they need to reach out to today's artists and get them to make some better music. :cool:
Click to expand...

Holy crap, AMEN!

I'm 25, and when I saw a special on the Beatles' 40th anniversary this past year I thought "Good lord....they had the Beatles back in the 60s. We have Justin Bieber."

I swear, I about cried.
 
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