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wow,,, even i didn't see this coming

Users confusion over streaming and music downloads ? That' just bland pure marketing **** ..

Of course u know what this means...... piracy will go up as a result, since no Apple users will be able to download music.


Should of seen this coming... First the switch to streaming with the Apple TV 3 on-wards and now this.. Apple just want a cloud system But as i said this is why none of this affects me since i get round their DRM easy anyway,,, as long it's on Apple music i grab it....

But ya,,, if that means no more downloads from the iTunes store, i sure hope copyright holders feel that way for with AM.... Somehow, i doubt that though...

Apple would of course know that the music users can only find on the iTunes Store but can't find on AM, they will go elsewhere...... Surly some bright spark in Cupertino understands *that*
 
I can see Apple making a move like this. When it comes to perceived outdated technology Apple has long been first to cut the cord.

If they don't approach this very, very carefully however they will lose me as a customer. iTunes for Windows and the first iPod that supported it are what drew me to the Apple ecosystem in the first place.

Now I'm a loyal Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV user. Part of what keeps me in the echosystem is my media library and the ease with which I can keep that (along with other data) in sync across all my devices.

If suddenly Apple phases out music downloads and the ability to manage and sync your library of playlists and music files across devices then I'll be finding a 3rd party cross platform app that can do it and once that happens I'll start taking a much closer look at other apps that work on other devices outside of the Apple ecosystem that can be used keep other information synced among devices as well.

Apple must make major improvements to Apple Music and keep the ability for non-Apple Music users to continue to manage their library of music across all Apple devices or a move like this could really backfire. If I've got to buy new music from Amazon or other sources I won't toss Apple devices out the window but if I can no longer manage downloaded music and easily keep things synced across devices and am forced to go to Apple Music then I'm done with Apple right then and there.
 
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Apple does not care. You will be in the minority while the vast majority will be happy with a streaming subscription based model.

My God, they have turned into the world's greediest company whilst at the same time, loosing all of their creativity. Idiots and truly uncaring.
 
I want to own my content and I hate subscriptions. That's not because I'm old (27) or don't like changes. The idea that a company can just remotely shut your subscription down at any moment is horrific. What's next? That we lease our next iPhone or Mac from Apple? Oh wait, for the phones that's already happening. Soon there is no other option than to get a new one every 2 or 3 years or else you're out. If you can live with a phone for 5 years now you're out. Companies having total control over everything you have in your own house is total nuts. Nobody should want that.
Why would they "remotely shut your subscription down at any moment"? You pay $10 a month for unlimited music. That's less than a single album. It's as simple as that.
 
Now I TRULY KNOW PRINCE was a visionary!

Are you a music lover or a music consumer!

Consumers = Stream
Lovers = OWN!

I prefer to OWN my music, outright, to play on ANY DEVICE, PLATFORM, PRODUCT/SERVICE I choose EVEN if it's a legacy choice ... I paid for it, I OWN IT! EVERY single track I've played through any device I've ever owned since 1984 I've purchased the music ... even if pirated I've purchased the original/remix within 6mths no exceptions! The majority sourced from CD, MiniDisc or web purchases. I LOVE my music and I play it over 60x a month ... there's no stopping us, slow us down yeah but stopping I pray not.

If Apple does this vs putting up advertising and education to SHOW the different market segments and appeal to ALL ... they'll just be another service to contend with and judging already by the most dominant OS by userbase in the world, device agnostic, and by their poor offering on it ... Android is KING and will win the majority streaming user marketplace Apple thinks its smart to go for. The issue is MOST of these users are trend focus and with more exclusive deals on competition ... Apple is going to get a big hurt!
 
The reason i don't stream is because there is no good new music, or rather very little new music that is good. I maybe buy 10 dollar worth of music every year, even though 100 dollar per year for streaming is pretty cheap, why would i have to pay 90 dollar extra each year for listening to music that i could have bought instead.

Also, if i would pay for Spotify, year after year, and in 5 or 10 year they goe bankrupt, 500-1000 dollar that i could have gotten alot of music for, that i own forever, no matter what the future of the company is
 
For those saying there's a trend in music streaming subscriptions.. you know why that is? Do the research.. people stream because they can't carry the music with them. If a base model phone costs X amount of dollars and you can pay a monthly fee to not carry those songs and take up space on a base model.. that's why streaming is good. But like all data.. it's been manipulated to make people think something is so grand about streaming when in reality there's nothing grand about it other then a company locking you into a monthly "drug" fix. You have to keep listening to your music so you pay the fee.. ah but if you paid the one time fee to download that won't lock you in. Same with the base model device.. get a larger storage device for a one time upfront fee and now you can store more.. oh but wait.. if you are Apple they'll turn it around and stop offering the download feature for everyone and cause you to still be sucked into their monthly "drug" fix. Business side it looks like winner.. on the backend they'll hurt themselves just like all previous music streamers have.. you bite the hand that feeds you and you'll end up with nothing at all. Take a poll.. how many will leave iTunes and go to amazon or another site if Apple were to take away downloads.. probably a lot. Even if it's not more then 20% of their total customer base.... Apple still doesn't want Amazon gaining those customers. So they would rather keep downloads going.. You can play both sides all day long but in the end it's just another gross rumor to stir people up.. doing a good job for whoever put it out.. hurts Apple's rep even more these days and causes panic/confusion for the end user to make a drastic change.
Streaming is an insanely good deal for anyone who likes music. You get almost everything ever published for less than the price of one new album per month. That's why people use it -- it's insanely cheap for what it is, and it's insanely convenient.
 
Okay fine, I'll buy my music elsewhere. I have zero loyalty to iTunes.
I've bought hundreds of CD's over the last 35 years. I'm NOT going to buy that music again within a streaming service. Amazon affords us a robust used CD market that is sufficient for my needs. I have bought several albums from iTunes and regret having done so for music otherwise available from (used) CD's. I want to own lossless music... PERIOD.
 
I refuse to rent the music music I listen to each month. If Apple ends iTunes music downloads, I will find another place to purchase music.

I like to have the music I listen to saved locally, paid for once and once only.


Amazon will like this and Google.... since more people will go to *them* (that is until they to do this)
 
My ANOTHER CONCERN is: What will happen to ibooks as well? NO MORE, Tim? At this point...piracy may be justifiable.
 
Streaming is an insanely good deal for anyone who likes music. You get almost everything ever published for less than the price of one new album per month. That's why people use it -- it's insanely cheap for what it is, and it's insanely convenient.

As long as you're happy with pretty low quality music, live 100% online, have infinite data caps, and the rights never revert.
 
The reason i don't stream is because there is no good new music, or rather very little new music that is good.

That is objectively untrue and ridiculous. Maybe you're just not finding the good music because you only buy downloads?

I maybe buy 10 dollar worth of music every year,

Well...you're no one's target consumer then.
 
Full disclosure... I have not read all 12 pages of comments...

The only way I see this working and working very well requires three things:

1) iTunes and the ecosystem still need to support all existing media as well as media imports from CD's or other purchased methods.

2) The subscription based service should allow for x number of downloads per month so that you can at least have your favorites when you are flying, on a cruise, camping, or just out in the boondocks somewhere.

3) They should negotiate with the major cell carriers to have the data flow portion of their streaming service be free like voice & text, or at the very least, a reduced rate like $5 per GB.

in short, they need to give those of us that are not always connected to good wifi a reason to want to stream. Otherwise, this thing goes sideways.
 
My ANOTHER CONCERN is: What will happen to ibooks as well? NO MORE, Tim? At this point...piracy may be justifiable.

iBooks already sucks - particularly for audiobooks. It's the worst quality application Apple's released in recent memory.
 
I can see this happening but I do think artists who sell records this way might actually prefer to sell direct or on other platforms. Physical records still offer best return as you can sell vinyl with all the artwork and goodness to people who appreciate the things other than music about a record.

I will never be using streaming services as I don't like renting or paying subscriptions for access to music. Youtube is a better platform for it anyway, musicians are finding other ways to really make a living now.
 
Apple is starting to remind me of Microsoft more and more.
Tim Shnook seems hell bent on pissing off as many people as possible with their political nonsense and crap like this
 
As long as you're happy with pretty low quality music, live 100% online, have infinite data caps, and the rights never revert.
It's not low quality. I have Wi-Fi almost everywhere I go, and unlimited streaming from T-Mobile. I'm not that concerned about music rights because a) that hasn't happened to any of my music yet, and b) if it happens, I'll just download those few songs from Amazon, assuming I even listen to them anymore.
 
For those saying there's a trend in music streaming subscriptions.. you know why that is? Do the research.. people stream because they can't carry the music with them. If a base model phone costs X amount of dollars and you can pay a monthly fee to not carry those songs and take up space on a base model.. that's why streaming is good. But like all data.. it's been manipulated to make people think something is so grand about streaming when in reality there's nothing grand about it other then a company locking you into a monthly "drug" fix. You have to keep listening to your music so you pay the fee.. ah but if you paid the one time fee to download that won't lock you in. Same with the base model device.. get a larger storage device for a one time upfront fee and now you can store more.. oh but wait.. if you are Apple they'll turn it around and stop offering the download feature for everyone and cause you to still be sucked into their monthly "drug" fix. Business side it looks like winner.. on the backend they'll hurt themselves just like all previous music streamers have.. you bite the hand that feeds you and you'll end up with nothing at all. Take a poll.. how many will leave iTunes and go to amazon or another site if Apple were to take away downloads.. probably a lot. Even if it's not more then 20% of their total customer base.... Apple still doesn't want Amazon gaining those customers. So they would rather keep downloads going.. You can play both sides all day long but in the end it's just another gross rumor to stir people up.. doing a good job for whoever put it out.. hurts Apple's rep even more these days and causes panic/confusion for the end user to make a drastic change.


Or it could be a rumor planted to get a pulse on a certain segment.
 
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I'm not surprised by this. Tech companies are always trying to disrupt themselves. I guess this is just another one of Apple's ways of disrupting itself. The only thing is that they've already been disrupted by Spotify, Pandora. If you want to buy music, I would just go to Amazon to buy MP3's from there or the hundreds of other locations out their on the internet. No biggie.
 
I can see this happening but I do think artists who sell records this way might actually prefer to sell direct or on other platforms. Physical records still offer best return as you can sell vinyl with all the artwork and goodness to people who appreciate the things other than music about a record.

I will never be using streaming services as I don't like renting or paying subscriptions for access to music. Youtube is a better platform for it anyway, musicians are finding other ways to really make a living now.

so in actual fact, Apple will loose these... If this is the start of what's to come for every one else, then copyright holders will be "forced" into this streaming solution.
 
That is objectively untrue and ridiculous. Maybe you're just not finding the good music because you only buy downloads?
No, probably because i have another taste in music than you, i don't listen to every single song that spews out on radio that people like you do.

Also, your comment about "objectively untrue", thats the ridiculous one, its objectively TRUE that i don't think there is much good new music, the world isn't revolving around you and what you like and the rest of the 7 billion people on this planet don't have the same taste in music like you do, you know.
 
How are they going to listen to music when off the cellular grid?

I see this every time there is a discussion about streaming services.

You can have thousands of songs stored on your device even if you are using a streaming service! No network streaming necessary. How is it that so many people do not understand this simple concept?
 
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