Apple Ceases Free iTunes Radio Streaming Worldwide

[dennysanders]

Its idiotic to think something free will always be free.

Just appreciate that you got it for free for a period of time.

i think what's bothering some people is the fact that they paid for iTunes match to be able to have access to iTunes radio ad-free. seems a little messed up that they would cancel something that was a part of a service customers paid for.

 

[FuzzMunky]

I just don't see the existential point in a company who just made $18 billion dollars, making decisions to grow their profit even more and piss off their user base, when they already have over $200 billion in cash that they have no idea how to spend. Capitalism is entirely stupid. It would be one thing to cancel all the perks if they needed more profit, but they have more than they know what to do with.

Apple has completely lost it. It's become a megalomaniacal monstrosity.

 

[rdlink]

I don't see cable TV and a Music Streaming subscription the same. People - or at least most people I know - don't listen to music the way they watch TV or Movies. TV and movies, you might find something you really like, so you buy it usually after already watching it. Music I listen it over and over and over again. I love listening to music. There are artists that I love and I listen to constantly. I always have music on. To me, I see Apple Music as a way to download music I love for one price, $10 a month. That's great. However I will fall in love with an artist or tracks and want to own them. Sure, I can still buy them, but why since I have Apple Music?

Well, now Apple Music goes by the wayside like iTunes Radio did. All that music I paid to listen to and download is gone. I now must repurchase all the music I loved because half my library is just gone. I only download music I love, and even then my library is huge. It has multiple genres, artists, albums. From classical, to R&B, to pop and yes even some country. I would rather keep buying music monthly - even if it totals up to more then Apple Music - to know that I own it and the loss of a subscription service is not going to make me loose it.

Maybe I listen to music differently then most, but Apple Music isn't the end-all, be-all for everyone. Same could be said for any service. Netflix and Hulu work better then cable for me, but someone might see differently for themselves. I loved iTunes Radio. It helped me discover artists and songs that might not be played very often on the local radio, and if I liked the song I would actually buy it.

That said, I appreciate the time I had with iTunes Radio. It was actually one of the better services Apple offered in my opinion, one that actually worked well - even after they tried to cripple it when Apple Music came out. Some may have had problems but iTunes Radio was usually trouble free for me. I have already moved back to Pandora and Spotify's free tiers.

My point isn't that someone should or shouldn't subscribe to music services, or that someone should or shouldn't subscribe to cable. My point was that so many people make blanket statements that subscribing to music services is stupid, because "I want to own my music." Like having permanent title to a particular song in perpetuity is somehow superior to having access to that song via a subscription service.

Ironically enough I subscribe to Apple Music, and I don't subscribe to cable. But I made both decisions based on economics and my personal use scenarios. Should my needs ever change I would not have any hesitation revisiting both of those decisions.

 

[SmileyDude]

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.

Count me as one of those iTunes Match subscribers that just lost something that was advertised as a feature of the service. Not happy here, Apple.

For those who weren't aware, iTunes Radio stations would have ads if you didn't have an iTunes Match and/or Apple Music subscription. iTunes Match specifically offered ad free radio stations as one of the perks of the service.

I guess that Apple is trying to simplify their offerings here, but they should've done it in a way that doesn't leave Match users with only part of the service they paid for.

 

[rdlink]

Count me as one of those iTunes Match subscribers that just lost something that was advertised as a feature of the service. Not happy here, Apple.

For those who weren't aware, iTunes Radio stations would have ads if you didn't have an iTunes Match and/or Apple Music subscription. iTunes Match specifically offered ad free radio stations as one of the perks of the service.

I guess that Apple is trying to simplify their offerings here, but they should've done it in a way that doesn't leave Match users with only part of the service they paid for.

Agreed. Frankly, the very least they should have done is roll the services of iTunes Match into Apple Music, and save me that $25 a year.

 

[SmileyDude]

Count me as one of those iTunes Match subscribers that just lost something that was advertised as a feature of the service. Not happy here, Apple.

For those who weren't aware, iTunes Radio stations would have ads if you didn't have an iTunes Match and/or Apple Music subscription. iTunes Match specifically offered ad free radio stations as one of the perks of the service.

I guess that Apple is trying to simplify their offerings here, but they should've done it in a way that doesn't leave Match users with only part of the service they paid for.

I just took a look on archive.org and as recently as January 1st of this year, Apple was still advertising on-demand music stations without ads on the iTunes Match page.

When exactly did they make the decision that they were dropping this feature?

 

[citysnaps]

Of course I'm now going to stop subscribing to iTunes match when my year is up.

I paid for iTunes match for the year (you pay by the year). Even if I cancel now, I will not get my money back.

If you belonged to a fitness club that has a pool and paid for a year of service, wouldn't you be upset if they told you that you can no longer use the pool without paying more money ?

I'm usually against class action suits but, I think it's warranted in this case.

IF you had signed up for iTunes Match after Apple announced the inclusion of free ad-free iMusic Radio with ITM, then simply send a message to Apple customer relations stating you are unhappy because you were counting on ad-free radio when signing up, and ask for a pro-rata refund of your ITM subscription. I'm certain they will comply with your request.

I think that would produce far better results than making noise here about class-action lawsuits.

Will you commit to doing that???

 

[warrior2000]

Jesus Christ.

iTunes Match only costs $25 a year and people are going bonkers that one of its ancillary features is no longer available. Its called iTunes Match not iTunes radio for goodness sake.

And if you did buy this specifically for commercial free radio I'm pretty sure they will refund you your $8.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.
[doublepost=1454094964][/doublepost]

I just don't see the existential point in a company who just made $18 billion dollars, making decisions to grow their profit even more and piss off their user base, when they already have over $200 billion in cash that they have no idea how to spend. Capitalism is entirely stupid. It would be one thing to cancel all the perks if they needed more profit, but they have more than they know what to do with.

Apple has completely lost it. It's become a megalomaniacal monstrosity.

Welcome to business. Sorry but Apple and no other for profit organization is a charity.

Its really simple. Like Apple products/services? Buy their products. Don't like it? Don't buy it. Ultimately the consumer decides what happens.

 

[SmileyDude]

Jesus Christ.

iTunes Match only costs $25 a year and people are going bonkers that one of its ancillary features is no longer available. Its called iTunes Match not iTunes radio for goodness sake.

And if you did buy this specifically for commercial free radio I'm pretty sure they will refund you your $8.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.
[doublepost=1454094964][/doublepost]

Welcome to business. Sorry but Apple and no other for profit organization is a charity.

Its really simple. Like Apple products/services? Buy their products. Don't like it? Don't buy it. Ultimately the consumer decides what happens.

In this case, people did buy Apple's services because they liked what Apple was offering. Apple changed it midway through (in my case, about 2 months after I renewed). Why should Apple be allowed to take away a feature that they advertised as being a part of the service? Just because you didn't use the feature or think it shouldn't be there doesn't mean that other people agree with that stance.

Personally, I paid for the service for both the ability to match tracks *and* the ability to listen to the radio stations ad-free. Why should I have to cancel my service now because Apple decided to stop offering that feature?

Apple certainly has the ability to grandfather in iTunes Match accounts that were in effect before they announced the change. Why would anyone object to Apple doing the right thing for their customers in this case?

 

[fel10]

Wont be missed by me.

 

[warrior2000]

In this case, people did buy Apple's services because they liked what Apple was offering. Apple changed it midway through (in my case, about 2 months after I renewed). Why should Apple be allowed to take away a feature that they advertised as being a part of the service? Just because you didn't use the feature or think it shouldn't be there doesn't mean that other people agree with that stance.

Personally, I paid for the service for both the ability to match tracks *and* the ability to listen to the radio stations ad-free. Why should I have to cancel my service now because Apple decided to stop offering that feature?

Apple certainly has the ability to grandfather in iTunes Match accounts that were in effect before they announced the change. Why would anyone object to Apple doing the right thing for their customers in this case?

Did you try to ask for a refund?

Companies drop services all the time. This is like subscribing to cable and then the cable station drops a few stations like MTV2 or ESPN4. You can't expect services to offer the same features for all eternity.

The main draw for iTunes Match is to play your music anywhere. The free radio was just an added feature. But if you value the free radio so much I'm pretty sure they will refund the money.

My guess is Apple has very few iTunes Match customers. And even fewer who view the free radio service as a big deal. They are taking a calculated risk that they won't piss off a large amount of users. Its too bad. But thats the fact of big business now days.

For them to allow you to have free radio for the rest of the subscription may pose some major technical problems. IMO, they will be making major changes to the radio stations very soon that will require AppleMusic integration.

Another possiblity is this could be a stipulation by the record labels. No more free streaming. Who knows. But from past experience Apple does treat its customers fairly overall. Not all the time, but most of the time. Much more than any other big corp I know of.

Either way we are talking about a few bucks here. If that gets you bent out of shape I'm sorry.

 

[npmacuser5]

i think what's bothering some people is the fact that they paid for iTunes match to be able to have access to iTunes radio ad-free. seems a little messed up that they would cancel something that was a part of a service customers paid for.

Agree, I cancelled my iTunes Match. Paying to have my tunes in the cloud and radio add free. What we were paying was never a free service.

 

[Kar98]

"...just about every song ever recorded"... as long as it's been recorded by Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber. Not lying, my iTunes window has been on the "home videos" tab for many months now because every time I try to browse the store, I see those two stupid looking mugs on the screen.

 

[citysnaps]

In this case, people did buy Apple's services because they liked what Apple was offering. Apple changed it midway through (in my case, about 2 months after I renewed). Why should Apple be allowed to take away a feature that they advertised as being a part of the service? Just because you didn't use the feature or think it shouldn't be there doesn't mean that other people agree with that stance.

Personally, I paid for the service for both the ability to match tracks *and* the ability to listen to the radio stations ad-free. Why should I have to cancel my service now because Apple decided to stop offering that feature?

Apple certainly has the ability to grandfather in iTunes Match accounts that were in effect before they announced the change. Why would anyone object to Apple doing the right thing for their customers in this case?

If you see no value in ITM without ad-free music for $25/yr, simply ask for a refund. If you still find value in ITM, continue on with your subscription.

You are given a choice and ultimately the choice is yours.

 

[MacFanatick]

To reiterate what some have already stated, this move is a slap in the face for Match subscribers. I understand that with Wall Street obsessing over iPhone sales they feel the need to boost services revenue, but ad-free iTunes Radio was listed as an integral feature of the iTunes Match subscription (see below).

Considering that I can stream my whole collection (as lossless ALAC files!) to my devices for free using PLEX, iTunes Match has no value to me without Radio. I've now turned off Match on all my devices and submitted a request for a pro-rated refund. Very disappointed Apple!

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

Apple can't please everyone. Good luck.

I think Apple is doing fine. They just reported the biggest profitable quarter in the history of business (over $18 billion in profits) and have 1 billion active devices.
[doublepost=1454091738][/doublepost]

You will lose. They are offering a full refund if you cancel.

They offered services for $25/year. That's an implied contract that they're breaching. They need to compensate subscribers by reducing rates, providing equivalent service or a pro-rated refund for the remainder of the year.

 

[S G]

Too bad, I used it regularly, although the choice in my radio was limited to some 50 songs with a lot of repeats. I don't understand why Apple would shut this down when it was ad-supported. At least, I won't miss another one of those obnoxious Febreeze or insurance ads...

 

[SmileyDude]

Did you try to ask for a refund?

Not yet. I have opened a support request regarding the removal of this and hopefully there will be something positive to come out of it.

Companies drop services all the time. This is like subscribing to cable and then the cable station drops a few stations like MTV2 or ESPN4. You can't expect services to offer the same features for all eternity.

I am certainly not expecting them to offer the same thing for all eternity. They were the ones that were offering this service as recently as January 1st. I think it's fair to say that someone at Apple knew that they weren't going to be offering ad-free music stations to iTunes Match users before then.

Also, this isn't a case of them getting rid of a feature completely. They still offer the same stations to Apple Music subscribers. All they have done is removed the ability for iTunes Match users to access them as well. If they were dropping the stations across the board, maybe it would be a different issue.

The main draw for iTunes Match is to play your music anywhere. The free radio was just an added feature. But if you value the free radio so much I'm pretty sure they will refund the money.

Like I said above, I valued both the ability to play my music anywhere *and* the ability to listen to the stations ad-free. Canceling my Match subscription isn't really an option here for me.

My guess is Apple has very few iTunes Match customers. And even fewer who view the free radio service as a big deal. They are taking a calculated risk that they won't piss off a large amount of users. Its too bad. But thats the fact of big business now days.

For them to allow you to have free radio for the rest of the subscription may pose some major technical problems. IMO, they will be making major changes to the radio stations very soon that will require AppleMusic integration.

Either way we are talking about a few bucks here. If that gets you bent out of shape I'm sorry.

First off, you are speculating here. We don't know how many iTunes Match users there are and we have absolutely no idea on possible technical issues here. But we do know that Apple sold a service as a yearly subscription and is now changing what that subscription offers in a negative way. Why would you even defend that as a reasonable action?

Also, it's not called "getting bent out of shape", it's simply being upset that the thing that you were sold has been changed after the fact. They have a legal term for that and it's called "bait and switch". But if you feel it's okay for a corporation that just posted record profits to take a few bucks here and there from some of it's customers, I really don't know what to say at this point.

 

[mbgrayson]

There are actually two separate and distinct reasons for some of us to feel ripped off:
1. We have lost 'Ad-Free radio' that was advertised as part of our iTunes Match subscription. This issue can be somewhat remedied by cancelling the subscription.
2. Apple TVs, 3rd generation and earlier, have lost their only way to play ad-free music. ITunes Radio is STILL an advertised feature of 3rd gen Apple TVs, see HERE. The only remedy in the 'Inernet radio' channel, which offers ad supported music. Not a good replacement...

I own two 3rd generation Apple TVs that were used to play ad free ITunes Radio music into the rooms where they are located. There is no similar replacement on this device, since Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify and other music services are not available on 3rd generation Apple TVs. I can still play my own music library though.

 

[warrior2000]

To reiterate what some have already stated, this move is a slap in the face for Match subscribers. I understand that with Wall Street obsessing over iPhone sales they feel the need to boost services revenue, but ad-free iTunes Radio was listed as an integral feature of the iTunes Match subscription (see below).

Considering that I can stream my whole collection (as lossless ALAC files!) to my devices for free using PLEX, iTunes Match has no value to me without Radio. I've now turned off Match on all my devices and submitted a request for a pro-rated refund. Very disappointed Apple!

Again the customer ultimately decides the success of the company or service.
I'm glad you found an alternative that you are happy with and you will get a refund.

But for most people setting up PLEX would take many hours and a dedicated server. For most they are fine paying the $25 a year. Again no service can get 100% satisfaction.

 

[Mackinjosh]

OK Apple, I'll just keep paying for Spotify, an infinitely better service.

 

[warrior2000]

There are actually two separate and distinct reasons for some of us to feel ripped off:
1. We have lost 'Ad-Free radio' that was advertised as part of our iTunes Match subscription. This issue can be somewhat remedied by cancelling the subscription.
2. Apple TVs, 3rd generation and earlier, have lost their only way to play ad-free music. ITunes Radio is STILL an advertised feature of 3rd gen Apple TVs, see HERE. The only remedy in the 'Inernet radio' channel, which offers ad supported music. Not a good replacement...

I own two 3rd generation Apple TVs that were used to play ad free ITunes Radio music into the rooms where they are located. There is no similar replacement on this device, since Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify and other music services are not available on 3rd generation Apple TVs. I can still play my own music library though.

AppleTV3 came out 4 years ago. Apple cannot support all legacy hardware with every single service that the newer devices have.

 

[chriscrowlee]

Wow... so 4-5 years ago I used to listen to Channel 977 and some other Hits Radio via iTunes. I went in today and that section is totally gone. Yet the stations still exist. I guess Apple figures if this move pushes away 99% of their radio tab listeners, theres still 1% incremental growth in a segment that didn't exist before. I definitely won't pay for what's available thousands of other places for free.

 

[bebo]

Paid or itunes match. Used to listen to itunes radio at work.

With this change today, decided to sign up for spotify .. Thank you apple for introducing me to spotify.

 

[mrnoglue]

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.

Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.
-- Benjamin Franklin