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Apple Aiming to End iTunes Music Downloads in Two Years [Update: Apple Says 'Not True']
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iTunes downloaded music is m4a audio with no DRM. If they shut down iTMS then you can still play the files in something like VLC.
next they will discontinue MacBooks because the iPad is more hip.
Actually, I'm going to call this story a bunch of BS. No way thats ever going to happen.
Actually, I'm going to call this story a bunch of BS. No way thats ever going to happen.
I want to have the majority of my stuff in the cloud, I'm saving for a space grey MacBook, I'm a Bitcoin enthusiast....hardly a geezer - but guess what, I don't want to rent music any more than I want to subscribe to software. I give you the money, you give me the goods, transaction over. My choice whether it goes streaming or goes in the cloud after that. Also a professional recording musician, and it seems to me that for as excited as people are about music they sure seem to hate the people who make it, because ya'll won't be happy until nobody in our industry makes any money back whatsoever.
If this it's true this will be the end of Apple and they lose millions, not everyone wants to stream music. How about those who music collections for decades, and cd's or burn vynil into their music library. This must be a stupid rumor, but if it's true. Welcome Amazon you will take the lead selling music!
Well if they are going to take away my ability to download songs then they better bring back the optical drive on my iMac so i can burn CD's to it 
I just posted a note on the Apple forum about this appalling news and it has already been removed
Next I went to Apple feedback and wrote what I think of it directly to Apple
Please everyone do the same! A lot of feedbacks will make change Apple's mind, hopefully
Next I went to Apple feedback and wrote what I think of it directly to Apple
Please everyone do the same! A lot of feedbacks will make change Apple's mind, hopefully
The world is changing, and having a local copy of every song you want to listen to doesn't make sense when you can access the world's music using the same interactions anyway. I think that's Apple's goal... to blur the lines and everybody has access to all songs. No need to buy them one-off or by album.
The same argument was made around TV shows. I purchased many TV shows when iTunes began offering them, with the thinking that I'd watch them at least a few times. I never did. Different media, different business models. Music is moving towards an all-you-can-eat model, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
The same argument was made around TV shows. I purchased many TV shows when iTunes began offering them, with the thinking that I'd watch them at least a few times. I never did. Different media, different business models. Music is moving towards an all-you-can-eat model, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
As if there aren't any other (legal) music download sites. I've been buying music online for almost 15 years and not once did I buy something from the iTunes store.
You listen to streaming radio, even digital radio exists. Technology is improving, and there's no reason to believe that Apple won't be part of evolving the delivery of over-the-air media in the years to come. Things are not static. Streaming didn't make sense for anyone 10 years ago, but it does today for huge numbers, and in a few years, it will make sense for even more.
hopefully by this time the price will go down. Personally I hate monthly things. I like to pay in longer terms. Give me $99 / year and Ill consider it.
Although during my trial I tried listening to Adel's new album and it wouldn't let me so I consider the service crap. I need a lower price, a longer term, and 100% accessibility.
Quite clever...it took some time for the content cartel to figure out it, but the way to get people to pay for media is to offer variety and convenience.
Sure, it turns their product into commodities, but it beats piracy.
And the best part is...rentals/subscriptions ensure a relatively steady revenue stream (har har). The holy grail is to eliminate ownership and make each play have an attached cost.
Some ask why Apple would go along with this? If you haven't noticed, Apple is well on the path toward building their own giant services business.
Slowly but steadily, local functionality is being removed from iOS and OS X and channeled through iCloud instead. At some point, Apple can decide that the premium cost of the hardware will no longer cover or include anything other than a modicum of complementary iCloud support. They've made their online services completely pay-to-play before, and they can do it again.
Eddie Cue and Apple are looking out for themselves as a business, not so much the user.
iOS, iCloud, iTMS and Apple Music first; everything else whenever they get around to it.
The old Apple is dead and buried, in more than one sense.
Sure, it turns their product into commodities, but it beats piracy.
And the best part is...rentals/subscriptions ensure a relatively steady revenue stream (har har). The holy grail is to eliminate ownership and make each play have an attached cost.
Some ask why Apple would go along with this? If you haven't noticed, Apple is well on the path toward building their own giant services business.
Slowly but steadily, local functionality is being removed from iOS and OS X and channeled through iCloud instead. At some point, Apple can decide that the premium cost of the hardware will no longer cover or include anything other than a modicum of complementary iCloud support. They've made their online services completely pay-to-play before, and they can do it again.
Eddie Cue and Apple are looking out for themselves as a business, not so much the user.
iOS, iCloud, iTMS and Apple Music first; everything else whenever they get around to it.
The old Apple is dead and buried, in more than one sense.
I'm all for it!
I am quite happy with Apple Music. I used to pay AT LEAST 10x$120/year on music CDs (classical, jazz, blues). Now, for the price of two cups of stupid brown water a month (which I don't drink, anyway) I have virtually unlimited access to the world's music.
I also have T-Mobile for two main reasons: unlimited data for music/video streaming and because I make/take fewer than five calls a month (I don't have time for people's verbal Facebook).
For flights/desert listening, my 128GB iPhone 6 presently holds about 75GB of downloaded Apple Music tracks.
I used to prefer to own (over 5000 CDs). I still keep a couple hundred rare/OOP/special CDs, but the rest were archived in FLAC and then went to CraigsList and payed for my Apple Music and Netflix until about 2022. Less clutter, more mobility, quicker access. No regrets.
Your mileage may vary, but nostalgia is a crappy master!!!
I am quite happy with Apple Music. I used to pay AT LEAST 10x$120/year on music CDs (classical, jazz, blues). Now, for the price of two cups of stupid brown water a month (which I don't drink, anyway) I have virtually unlimited access to the world's music.
I also have T-Mobile for two main reasons: unlimited data for music/video streaming and because I make/take fewer than five calls a month (I don't have time for people's verbal Facebook).
For flights/desert listening, my 128GB iPhone 6 presently holds about 75GB of downloaded Apple Music tracks.
I used to prefer to own (over 5000 CDs). I still keep a couple hundred rare/OOP/special CDs, but the rest were archived in FLAC and then went to CraigsList and payed for my Apple Music and Netflix until about 2022. Less clutter, more mobility, quicker access. No regrets.
Your mileage may vary, but nostalgia is a crappy master!!!
See, now that's uncool. There are a few very good reasons why that would be a bad idea for some of us. I'm in my 40's and subscribe to apple music and stream the **** out of music. However, unless they are going to stream apple lossless and, be able to import music, I think it's safe to say that some of us will be pissed. Esp those of us in the music business like myself.
You can argue that we will have to find another audio app to fill the gap and that might be true but seriously dude, I can promise you that removing download will piss people off across all age groups.
I sub to Apple Music and I like it because I can listen to any music I want without having to pay for thousands of individual downloads. That being said, I have my own collection of music, like all Steely Dan, all Donald Fagen, all Walter Becker, the music I always come back to, the music I own. There are new artists that come along whose work I want to own as well. Music I can listen to in my car without using my cellular data. If Apple ceases selling downloads, I will take my business elsewhere.
Apple allegedly has an aggressive plan to "terminate" music downloads from iTunes within two years, reports Digital Music News citing sources with "close and active business relationships" with Apple.
Apple is also rumored to be considering a three to four year timeline for the shutdown of iTunes downloads, but overall discussions with Apple executives are said to focus on "not on if, but when" the company should retire music downloads. Termination of music downloads could be staggered by country based on the popularity of streaming content in different regions.The timeline is unclear because Apple's iTunes business continues to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year, but it is on the decline due to the rise of streaming music services. According to music industry Mark Mulligan, iTunes music downloads will be worth $600 million in 2019, down from $3.9 billion in 2012. Mulligan believes Apple's download business could be 10 times smaller than its streaming music business by 2020.
Apple is also said to be considering ending music downloads due to the confusion it causes with Apple Music, mixing downloaded music purchases with Apple Music content.
Late last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple Music now has 13 million paying subscribers, up from 11 million users in February. Apple Music originally launched on June 30, 2015 in more than 100 countries and at its current growth rate, Apple is on track to have 15 million subscribers at its one-year anniversary.
Article Link: Apple Aiming to End iTunes Music Downloads in Two Years
$10 a month is less the the price of one album and I'm sure they will allow offline playlists. I canceled Apple Music and still use Spotify exclusively as I found it far superior to AM, but I ,any get back into it if they do it right.