Apple Ceases Free iTunes Radio Streaming Worldwide

[Bird Brain]

Bunch of cry babies in here.

"How dare Apple take away something I paid nothing for! I'm going to take the $0 I was paying the for it and go give it to someone else. That'll teach Apple. They'll miss the nothing I was giving them and be hurt financially! They don't know what they're doing. I know far better than them, for I've built a better model for business than the richest company in the world."

Apple offered ITunes Radio in an ad-supported model free for everyone. If you wanted an ad-free ITunes Radio experience, Apple offered this via an ITunes Match annual subscription fee. Those who paid for ad-free ITunes Radio had that feature abruptly terminated today. It seems Apple should offer Apple Radio for free to those subscribers for the remainder of their subscriptions, or refund a portion of their subscriptions. This was not handled well by Apple.

 

[OllyW]

Just fired up NPR on iTunes Radio.
Seems to be working fine. iTunes Match, no Apple Music.

That's internet radio, not iTunes Radio.

 

[Rogifan]

After Earnings call, and Wallstreet reaction this purely feels like a knee jerk move to try and show that they can make additional revenues to help with the prediction of decrease in device sales next year.

They're catering to Wallstreet and trying to bleed as much revenues out of their existing customer base as much as possible.

Beats 1 isn't bad. I've enjoyed turning it on from time to time to see whats playing (though rarely what i'd want to listen to), but if it requires a subscription? I might as well just un-install iTunes, because its literally the last thing I'm using from that horrible software

I assumed everyone hated iTunes Radio. At least that's the feeling I got from comments here and on other tech sites. So I'm a little surprised at the backlash. Anyway I think the handwriting was on the wall when Apple Music launched and there was no free ad supported tier. I have a Sirius XM subscription so when I want to listen to "radio" I launch that app or I use Pandora. I don't use the radio portion of Apple Music at all.

 

[2457282]

Do you subscribe to cable television?

Personally, I don't understand some peoples' animosity over subscription streaming services. If it's a purely fiscal decision, such as the fact that the subscription would cost you more money in the long run that's fine.

But making it about some sore of philosophical choice is kind of dumb, IMO. Take my situation, as an example. Before Apple Music came along I had well over 3,000 songs in my library. Probably 40% of them purchased from iTunes. I was spending on average more than $10 a month for songs that I was buying, and I have been doing so for years. With Apple music, for less per month I get to download and listen to any one of literally millions and millions of songs on a whim. The fact that I can put up to six people on the account for $15 a month (there are currently 3 on my account) makes it even more economical.

To use you example about listening and discovering new music, Apple Music shifts that in your favor. Now, when you hear a song or an artist that you like you can, for no additional money go out and find more of their music, and download and listen to it.

Apple Music has helped me discover music from artists I had already known by allowing me to download much bigger portions of their catalog, thereby showing me music of theirs that I would have never otherwise seen or heard.

No I do not subscribe to Cable TV. The only subscription I have is internet, Netflix and cell phone, because I use them sufficiently to justify plus other reasons I will explain.

Subscription is based on paying whether you use the service or you don't. The company has figured out what on average a typical person uses and then charges you more than that so they can profit. However, I already have a 20k song library, I do not need tons of music and usually only buy 1 or 2 songs per month with some months more and some at zero. So 2 buck to buy or 10 buck for streaming -- the numbers are not justifiable. In addition, at least in my use case, I listen to my music multiple times. I have several songs with a play count in the triple digit. Buying once and using unlimited makes more sense here.

Netflix, I am on the other end of the spectrum. I rarely if ever see a film more than once. In this case purchasing does not make sense and renting does. Through Apple TV you can rent a single movie for about $6 dollars US. Since I still pay $8 dollars US for Netflix, just two movies a month justifies that subscription.

The point is that Apple is going to lose customers and sales from people with my use case. If your use case is different, fine. Hopefully Apple has figured out that they will make more money this way and the labels and artist are good with it. Because the reality is that this new approach encourages subscription over purchases.

For me that is bad, and looks like for you that is good. Have fun; I will be in the corner quietly crying just a little.

 

[AntonLee]

Totally sucks. I liked the Chill and Classical stations. Aren't the premium prices we pay sufficient to have at least a few free radio channels?

Yep. I paid extra because of this perk with iTunes Match. I'm going ahead and cancelling that now.

 

[Bird Brain]

Apple offered ITunes Radio in an ad-supported model free for everyone. If you wanted an ad-free ITunes Radio experience, Apple offered this via an ITunes Match annual subscription fee. Those who paid for ad-free ITunes Radio had that feature abruptly terminated today. It seems Apple should offer Apple Radio for free to those subscribers for the remainder of their subscriptions, or refund a portion of their subscriptions. This was not handled well by Apple.

 

[LordVic]

I assumed everyone hated iTunes Radio. At least that's the feeling I got from comments here and on other tech sites. So I'm a little surprised at the backlash. Anyway I think the handwriting was on the wall when Apple Music launched and there was no free ad supported tier. I have a Sirius XM subscription so when I want to listen to "radio" I launch that app or I use Pandora. I don't use the radio portion of Apple Music at all.

And I think thats what it comes down to. So many people are paying for music streaming services now, that there's very little incentive for Apple to continue to provide this one for free.

I'm not sure it's a good move. Ultimately, I don't think it will make much of a difference. Apple's not one of the biggest players in this particular field / service.

People just like to freak out because, they like to freak out.

 

[Gruntersdad12]

There is certainly enough free music available that one need not have to pay for it. Sorry Apple you lose. Now which Pandora or Slacker station should I listen to now.
[doublepost=1454079280][/doublepost]

I applaud this decision, as it really clarifies the options to the customer.

You can now (either/or/both):

• buy songs/albums from the iTunes music store

• subscribe to Apple Music and stream songs either directly or through 'stations'

I like paying for music.

I believe musicians should be paid for their creative endeavours.

I pay for an Apple Music family subscription as that's currently the best method for me to pay while being able to discover new music that I otherwise would not have heard.

[doublepost=1454079363][/doublepost]...or load music to your iTunes library and play them on the Music app on your phone. I have enough CD's from back in the day, to listen to music without repeat until I die.

 

[OllyW]

The fact that iTunes Match customers received streaming music free was never a stated benefit or service of iTunes Match. They were never promised such service with iTunes Match.

It was a stated benefit until they removed it last week.

 

[skywalkerr69]

Yeah i'm not subscribing to this. Pandora has way better radio stations.

 

[AntonLee]

Bunch of cry babies in here.

"How dare Apple take away something I paid nothing for! I'm going to take the $0 I was paying the for it and go give it to someone else. That'll teach Apple. They'll miss the nothing I was giving them and be hurt financially! They don't know what they're doing. I know far better than them, for I've built a better model for business than the richest company in the world."

Paid for with iTunes Match subscription. Do you need me to google that for you?

 

[bluespark]

[doublepost=1454071217][/doublepost]
You can't cancel iTunes Radio because it was free. I think your talking about Apple Music. This is not it. This was the radio service they introduced before Apple Music
[doublepost=1454071268][/doublepost]
You didn't pay for iTunes Radio. This is not Apple Music folks!!!!![/QUOTE]

The post you cited referred explicitly to cancelling iTunes Match. He wasn't talking about Apple Music.

 

[Gruntersdad12]

Thank you

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Apple's not one of the biggest players in this particular field / service.

Wat?

Spotify is the largest online streaming service with 20 million premium subscribers.
Pandora has just 3.5 million.
Apple Music has over 10 million in less than a year.

How is Apple not one of the biggest players in this field?

 

[derek4484]

This is really ****** of Apple. I had a couple of iTunes Radio stations created and listened to them quite often. It was branded as a feature/benefit of owning an iPhone. Greedy company.

 

[fithian]

iTunes Match customers were paying for it. Many were using iTunes Match just for the ad-free iTunes Radio....

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.

 

[derek4484]

iTunes and the Music app on the phone have become so cluttered you can't even tell what is what anymore.

Absolutely!! It doesnt work in a common sense manner. Finding options like repeat and shuffle, you have to burrow down through so many levels. My old Sandisk MP3 player is so simple..."it just works". Running on a treadmill and trying to flip through the Music App is terribly complex.

 

[Rogifan]

The fact that iTunes Match customers received streaming music free was never a stated benefit or service of iTunes Match. They were never promised such service with iTunes Match. Just because I get girls driving a Ferrari doesn't mean I can get mad at Ferrari if I go out and don't get girls.

https://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204962

If you're upset, request a refund. I'm sure they're happy to make it happen.

Here's the press release from Apple when iTunes Radio was announced:

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

iTunes Radio is ad-supported and free for everyone. iTunes Match℠ users get iTunes Radio ad-free, so instead of hearing the occasional ad on iTunes Radio, iTunes Match makes your listening completely ad-free. With iTunes Match, all your music—even songs you’ve imported from CDs—are stored in iCloud®. So iTunes Radio can use information about your entire music collection to make your stations even more personalized. iTunes Match costs $24.99 for a year.

I suppose Apple would argue that iTunes Radio wasn't really part of iTunes Match; its just that Match subscribers got it ad-free. I guess if iTunes Match was $24.99 before iTunes Radio then in theory it was a "free" service that could be taken away at any time. I still think the way this has been communicated (and the pushing of Apple Music) could've been handled better. But considering it's coming from Eddy Cue's shop I'm not surprised. I think he's Apple's weakest link at the exec level.

Someone in my Twitter feed (who works for NBC/Universal and seems to be in the know) said the Apple Music app was developed by the Beats team in LA, not the iTunes team in Cupertino. John Gruber relayed a story on one of his podcasts about Apple employees being in a meeting with Jimmy Iovine where he wondered whether music should even be an app on the phone. He thought you unlock your phone and music should just appear. I'm sorry but that guy was the wrong person to bring in to build a streaming music service/app.

 

[adamjackson]

The only reason I used iTunes Match. Disabling my November auto-renewal. Sigh.

 

[bgro]

So now we have yet ANOTHER useless button in the Music app on iOS. Thanks Apple. When I tap that my only option is Beats 1, the over other link on that page is for a radio station that won't play.

I'm so glad I went with Google Music. Now I'll do everything I can to avoid opening the Music app. I wish I could somehow uninstall it.

This is what pisses me off as well. If i'm not able to use Radio without an Apple Music subscription then let me remove the button from my app. Moving all my music to Google Music. I'm am(was) a die hard Apple fan, not because of fanboyism, but because i truly think(thought) their products/business practices were better. This is slowly changing and I'm getting more and more fed up with the company.

 

[skinned66]

Lwhat does this mean for previous gen Apple tv access to radio streams?

Everyone is in the same boat. It doesn't make any sense for Apple to play favourites here in any capacity and keep the service running for a subset of users.

As for the iTunes match subscription, without even reading it I'd be willing to bet $5 CDN ($0.75 USD) Apple has a nice little blurb in their iTunes Radio TOS that says the can cancel it at any time, and by using the service you agree to those terms.

That said I think that anyone who believes they have a legitimate claim should attempt to pursue it as a matter of principle. My opinion that nobody has any has yet to be changed.

 

[2013.1]

Was never available here. Didn't need it either.

 

[Gruntersdad12]

So someone help me. I buy my phone, I buy my Mac. I buy music on CD or digital download, load it to my Mac, in iTunes Library . Now I can no longer play those on my iPhone with the Music App? Help.

 

[jmattor]

I'm an Apple Music subscriber, so it doesn't affect me. But this is a classless move inasmuch as iTunes Match subscribers just had a perk of the service they were paying for taken away. Not cool, Apple.

I just renewed my iTunes Match subscription AFTER confirming on the Apple website that the service included on-demand music stations without ads. I printed the page out - dated 1/18/2016.

Now they want to yank that away from me?

OK, I want to yank my money away from THEM!

I'll let my bank know that I've been hoodwinked and refuse to pay the charge...let's see what happens.

 

[Tech198]

I guess at the end of the day i shouldn't really matter since 90% of us never we understood it anyway..

ok,,,, iTunes radio is gone from Apple TV 3, so there's ya answer.... I'm 5% closer to knowing

I had good stuff on there to.. thank allot Apple.At least they could of just moved it over to the ad supported radio current..