Apple Ceases Free iTunes Radio Streaming Worldwide

[Rigby]

So, I just finished uploading my entire music library to Onedrive (where I have 1TB of space as part of an Office 365 subscription). I can now use the Groove Music app on the iPhone to stream and download the songs. In some ways this is better than iTunes Match: I always get my original files (i.e. no matching errors such as the Beatles mono songs being matched to their stereo versions), and it even plays ALAC lossless files from the cloud without downgrading them to AAC like Match does. The biggest downside is that playlists don't carry over from iTunes, and there are no "smart playlists" (which is one of iTunes' better features IMO). But I can live with that.

Thanks to Apple for motivating me to look for Match alternatives. I may try Google Play Music too, but for now I have what I need.

 

[DrumApple]

Sorry to say but Spotify may be bankrupt in 12 months.

Spotify lost $250 million last year.
They only have about $400 million in the bank.
The royalty costs have gone up in 2016 for music.
They could literally run out of money this year.
[doublepost=1454098736][/doublepost]

ATV3 is a crap device only for very basic users. Go upgrade to ATV4 if you want all the features.[/QUOTE]

Then why would Apple copy Spotify with Apple Music if it isn't a profitable business model? I'll eat my hat if Spotify shuts down any time soon.

 

[Huracan]

It's good that I never used their iTunes radio stations, so who cares. On a positive note. this way they stop competing against Spotify, Pandora and others which should bring some breathing air to them.

 

[Trebuin]

I'll miss the iTunes radio. When they picked up Beats, I thought it dropped in quality, especially since all my channels disappeared when the upgrades took effect. Oh well, back to iheartradio.

 

[eastcoastsurfer]

Guess what? I use Apple Music every day. Love to use it while I work-out, and in my office. $10/month is a small price for something so useful in my life. I don't understand people who won't get something for $10. I can understand saving like $1,000 on something, but $10 is pigeon feed. I'm glad my finances are better than yours.

My whole model of listening has changed with Apple Music. Sure, I have options, I could choose Spotify, but Apple Music is more convenient and cheaper. The family plan brings our cost to less than $5 a person.

I now hear a song by an artist, and find out other albums the artist has made, and listen to the whole albums in their entirety. I'll find a few favorites and add them to my work or work-out playlists.

I agree with you. $10/month for unlimited music is a great deal. I would use Apple Music, but I'm grandfathered into Googles service for $7.99/month.

Unlimited usage is just so nice. Hear a song, find the artist then play everything they have. It has definitely changed how I listen to music.

 

[bwillwall]

NICE Apple... so what you're saying is all that about being fine with breaking even and just wanting to provide an awesome service for customers was complete BS? I shouldn't be surprised one bit. News flash Apple, people won't sign up for Apple Music just for radio stations, they will use pandora and cut you off entirely!

 

[johnnyturbouk]

Never liked iTunes Match and was certainly not impressed with Apple Music; when combined, they would cost me £11.83a month.

I'm spending a quid less (£8.99) on Netflix instead, and loving the 4KUHD content on my LG OLED, a much better investment.
Just watched Sense8 and it was fantastic.

 

[APlotdevice]

"Get on Our Wavelength"

WOW! Whether they intended it to be or not, that is incredibly condescending!

 

[lordofthereef]

I'll bve canceling match I guess and going with something else. A large reason why I paid for match was because of ad free radio listening. I did the three month trial of musiuc, and while I thouhgt it was ok, I found it expensive for what it was. Makes no sense to me to have a music streaming service cost as much as video streaming.
[doublepost=1454291372][/doublepost]

Guess what? I use Apple Music every day. Love to use it while I work-out, and in my office. $10/month is a small price for something so useful in my life. I don't understand people who won't get something for $10. I can understand saving like $1,000 on something, but $10 is pigeon feed. I'm glad my finances are better than yours.

My whole model of listening has changed with Apple Music. Sure, I have options, I could choose Spotify, but Apple Music is more convenient and cheaper. The family plan brings our cost to less than $5 a person.

I now hear a song by an artist, and find out other albums the artist has made, and listen to the whole albums in their entirety. I'll find a few favorites and add them to my work or work-out playlists.

No reason to be condescendning. I am sure most people could afford it. It's a simple matter of perceived value. You perceive a higher value than some. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with me for not thinking this is worth $10. I guarantee you I drop money on things you would consider a waste too.
[doublepost=1454291522][/doublepost]

I'll miss the iTunes radio. When they picked up Beats, I thought it dropped in quality, especially since all my channels disappeared when the upgrades took effect. Oh well, back to iheartradio.

I recetnly went back and was surprised to see that the custom stations are ad free. The broadcast radio stations have a 30 seconds ad when first loaded (and then whatever ads are playing live over theair for that station). I am guessing they are using people's cusom stations to track what srots of music people listen to. I am ok with that.
[doublepost=1454291786][/doublepost]

As do other companies... ads only annoy so I can't blame the shift.

Match users had ad free listening. This actually enticed me to buy a few songs a month. It made more sense to me to spend $10 a month on tracks I really enjoyed than renting but inevitably owning nothing. I can only assume Apple crunched the numbers and I am in the vast minority. Or they figure they can bring more revenue this way. Or both.
[doublepost=1454291999][/doublepost]

NICE Apple... so what you're saying is all that about being fine with breaking even and just wanting to provide an awesome service for customers was complete BS? I shouldn't be surprised one bit. News flash Apple, people won't sign up for Apple Music just for radio stations, they will use pandora and cut you off entirely!

Is there evidence somewhere that their "break even" business model has changed?

 

[nicho]

Never liked iTunes Match and was certainly not impressed with Apple Music; when combined, they would cost me £11.83a month.

I'm spending a quid less (£8.99) on Netflix instead, and loving the 4KUHD content on my LG OLED, a much better investment.
Just watched Sense8 and it was fantastic.

That's nice for you but they're not really the same thing are they?

I could save you another £9 a month sending you to your local public library...

 

[thewhitehart]

I always listen to classic rock during my train commute. Dick move, Apple.

(Match Subscriber)

 

[attila]

So, Spotify free gives you more options than free Apple Music, and Spotify Premium gives more options than premium Apple Music.

Still not regretting moving my iTunes library to a backup disk (to save space) and removing it from the dock. Apple is doing nothing to attract me to their awful app and their awful service.

 

[whsbuss]

NICE Apple... so what you're saying is all that about being fine with breaking even and just wanting to provide an awesome service for customers was complete BS? I shouldn't be surprised one bit. News flash Apple, people won't sign up for Apple Music just for radio stations, they will use pandora and cut you off entirely!

Really? Apple reported many millions who signed up for AM (including me) and its not about radio stations. Pandora and Spotify, although good services, are losing millions each year.

 

[derek4484]

Crazy so many people are grumbling that they can't get something free anymore. Seriously.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Yes you can get free streaming music with Pandora but then you will get a ton of ads or they will tract your information.

Apple is about giving a premium experience. That cost money. Giving away music for free is not a sustainable business model. Many of these companies like Pandora will eventually have to spam you with more ads or go out of business. There is no way they can keep giving you free music while they have to pay the labels tens of millions of dollars.

I get your point about complaining about something "free" going away. But it's not really like that. Apple came out and said it was a feature/benefit of buying an iphone....get itunes radio included with the Apple music app when you buy an iPhone. It was an included feature that now no longer exists for hundreds of millions of iphone users. And its all about money. Pony up the $10/month or whatever the new service costs and you can get your internet radio stations back.

 

[Juicy Box]

Really? Apple reported many millions who signed up for AM (including me) and its not about radio stations. Pandora and Spotify, although good services, are losing millions each year.

I think you are miss understanding what their post is about. I think they meant cancelling the ad-supported iTunes Radio, or the paid Match sub ad-free iTunes Radio will not get people to subscribe to Apple Music. I have to agree with the post. I bet most people will find other ways to listen.

In a way, your first sentence is in agreement with his post.

Apple reported many millions who signed up for AM (including me) and its not about radio stations.

 

[nicho]

I get your point about complaining about something "free" going away. But it's not really like that. Apple came out and said it was a feature/benefit of buying an iphone....get itunes radio included with the Apple music app when you buy an iPhone. It was an included feature that now no longer exists for hundreds of millions of iphone users. And its all about money. Pony up the $10/month or whatever the new service costs and you can get your internet radio stations back.

Um, they didn't come out and say that.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/06/10Apple-Announces-iTunes-Radio.html

 

[FlyingDutchMan_27]

I really liked the apple music stations, I think apple did a much better job with them than others did. I also liked that it was free (although add supported). Now they take it away and I will probably migrate to Pandora. I don't want to pay for something I only use once in a while. Thanks apple!

 

[aarond12]

I pay $5/month for Crunchyroll -- an anime video streaming service. I pay $8/month for Netflix. Why is Apple Radio $10/month when those two services stream HD VIDEO for less money?

One of the reasons I paid for iTunes Match was to be able to get commercial-free streaming radio. Now they take that away? Not cool. (Reference: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/06/10Apple-Announces-iTunes-Radio.html)

 

[Juicy Box]

I pay $5/month for Crunchyroll -- an anime video streaming service. I pay $8/month for Netflix. Why is Apple Radio $10/month when those two services stream HD VIDEO for less money?

One of the reasons I paid for iTunes Match was to be able to get commercial-free streaming radio. Now they take that away? Not cool.

I completely understand.

If I had to make a guess on why AM cost as much as it does, simply because people will pay it.

People can also argue that it is more than a streaming service too.

I personally think it cost too much and will not be subscribing to it. It would be cheaper for me to just buy songs that I want, and not rent them.

I also am going to contact Apple about ending my iTunes Match sub and see if I can get a prorated refund. It was just renewed 2 months ago.

 

[spitcoff]

This sucks. I listen to apple radio stations almost every day. It is the only reason I subscribed to match. I guess I will go back to pandora now. Apple music is way too much $$$ jus to get the radio functions.

 

[bstpierre]

Hear! Hear!

I just canceled the next renewal of iTunes Match. I will try Apple Music for 90 days and re-evaluate whether or not I need it. I have all of my music downloaded onto all of my devices. Getting music off of cellular has never been very effective on long trips in remote areas. My Audis have internet and I can get their radio stations when I need something other than FM. Same at home. Not a good move for Apple. iTunes Match should be reconsidered and include the old Radio stations.

I am also going to cancel the renewal of match but am not going to sign-up for the trial of Apple Music because that will be a win for Apple.

 

[NomadicTy]

I can't subscribe to Apple Music after it fracked up my music library. It took me 2 days fixing metadata jumbled all over my library. I liked the service, but not at the expense of my library being messed up.

 

[whsbuss]

I think you are miss understanding what their post is about. I think they meant cancelling the ad-supported iTunes Radio, or the paid Match sub ad-free iTunes Radio will not get people to subscribe to Apple Music. I have to agree with the post. I bet most people will find other ways to listen.

In a way, your first sentence is in agreement with his post.

Love how people explain what I SOULD HAVE meant. Its sad that so many complain about everything, good or bad. Apple will do what's in their best interest to deliver dividends to their investors. If we get something free for a while, then so be it.

 

[Juicy Box]

Love how people explain what I SOULD HAVE meant. Its sad that so many complain about everything, good or bad. Apple will do what's in their best interest to deliver dividends to their investors. If we get something free for a while, then so be it.

Where in my post did I explain what you SOULD HAVE meant? No where did I explain your post.

I think you are miss understanding what their post is about. I think they meant cancelling the ad-supported iTunes Radio, or the paid Match sub ad-free iTunes Radio will not get people to subscribe to Apple Music. I have to agree with the post. I bet most people will find other ways to listen.

If anything, I was explaining my interpretation to the post you quoted, not your post.

Its sad that so many complain about everything

Look at the complaint in the first line of your post, assuming it was sarcastic. It must be sad.

 

[CrashX]

Hmmm... Enjoying listening to Metallica on Napster.

But, just wondering - every time I tap Music to listen to my Music, will the app now stop telling me EVERY time that "Cellular data is turned off for Music..." I already know that, ya twits. But please, remind me again, forever. Yep, gotta press that button to dismiss the helpful message...