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Apple Considering Dramatic Overhaul of iTunes to Address Declining Music Downloads
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I totally thought iTunes Radio would be more like Spotify, complete with on-demand streaming. But no, it was just plain old Pandora, which I despise... I told myself they're working towards Spotify model, just starting off with this. But this article verifies that they meant Radio to go head-to-head with Spotify and the like.
What?!
C'mon Apple, you can do better than that...
I have very little inclination for buying music now that streaming services are so plentiful and of decent quality. Only rarely do I put my iCloud-hosted songs on shuffle. I'm tired of listening to them.
Apple, please don't ruin the iTunes experience simply in the name of sales.
Apple, please don't ruin the iTunes experience simply in the name of sales.
about time for an overhaul...bring it
About 5 years overdue. All iTunes is an awful piece of software.
It's time to bring down the price of music. Obviously this isn't Apple's call, but if anyone can convince the record labels, maybe Apple can.
Songs should come down to $0.49-$0.69, with albums at $4.99-$6.99. Is this going to make the kind of money that artists and labels want? No. Is it going to make them more than they are making now? Absolutely. I'd buy probably 20-30 albums a year at $5 a pop. At $10-$12 an album? Almost none. It's just too much money for an album unless its REALLY good.
Songs should come down to $0.49-$0.69, with albums at $4.99-$6.99. Is this going to make the kind of money that artists and labels want? No. Is it going to make them more than they are making now? Absolutely. I'd buy probably 20-30 albums a year at $5 a pop. At $10-$12 an album? Almost none. It's just too much money for an album unless its REALLY good.
Except Spotify gives you on-demand for free, too. Just got to Spotify and search for anything, and the song will be right there to play, for free. And then of course it ALSO has a Radio feature.
Sigh
As a musician I hope iTunes sticks around too.
Why?
For my own music if someone buys a CD I get the majority of that.
I get pennies a month from Spotify streams.
We're talking like eighteen to twenty cents a month.
I shudder to think about major artists with Lady Gaga type success - they probably pull in a few hundred dollars per month.
But us indie guys who are below the radar. We'll starve.
That being said, it's great to be able to sample a lot of different types of music.
And yes, there's a lot of crap foisted our way in the 2013 music-space but there's plenty of excellent artists out there.
They just don't have the promotion budget of some of the "names" you recognize today.
As a musician I hope iTunes sticks around too.
Why?
For my own music if someone buys a CD I get the majority of that.
I get pennies a month from Spotify streams.
We're talking like eighteen to twenty cents a month.
I shudder to think about major artists with Lady Gaga type success - they probably pull in a few hundred dollars per month.
But us indie guys who are below the radar. We'll starve.
That being said, it's great to be able to sample a lot of different types of music.
And yes, there's a lot of crap foisted our way in the 2013 music-space but there's plenty of excellent artists out there.
They just don't have the promotion budget of some of the "names" you recognize today.
"(...) Apple has radical plans for iTunes in store, which could lead to a "completely different" experience in three to five years."
Three to five years??
Three to five years??
Let's see, 1 dollar 29 cents for one song or 10 dollars for unlimited songs for 30 days on Spotify...
The problem is that when you are not stuck with the lacking search engine you are using that horrible revamped iTunes. I'm actually afraid to use iTunes now.
Bring back FCP 7, iMovie HD and the old iTunes.
Agree. Since iOS 7, scrubbing on long tracks has been really choppy for me in the Music app only. Also, why ditch cover flow?
When do you have to use iTunes? I can't remember the last time I used it on my PC, and since I have Spotify I rarely use it on my iDevices either.
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So you can listen to anything in the Spotify library ad-free for free? What the heck am I paying $10 a month for then?
So storage is the limit instead of data usage like Pandora. I still don't see how being allowed to have 3333 songs for 30 days at a time (Spotify offline) is better than my 3200 songs that I already own offline for infinity. As a college student with a limited budget, it just doesn't make sense to me. If iTunes match were more affordable, it would make sense since I've already invested in iTunes. I think that's probably my biggest thing. Why switch to another format if I'm already invested in a different one? Not like you can sell iTunes downloads like you can sell VHS and vinyl.
They need to get in on those high quality songs Neil Young is promoting with Pono. iTunes Match users should get unlimited plays in radio.
Exactly. I still buy lots of music, but almost none of it is in a lossy format anymore, meaning iTunes has basically lost me as a customer. I would return in a heartbeat if they offered lossless music at a reasonable price.
A bigger screen and subscription music....
A bigger screen and a subscription music service that includes the ability to store subscription based music locally would go a long ways towards making me consider going back to iPhone. I also think Apple needs to address their keyboard as well as both Android and WP 8.1 have the edge on the keyboard.
A bigger screen and a subscription music service that includes the ability to store subscription based music locally would go a long ways towards making me consider going back to iPhone. I also think Apple needs to address their keyboard as well as both Android and WP 8.1 have the edge on the keyboard.
The only way I will buy music is in lossless format (e.g. ALAC, FLAC). This is my archival format, and currently, the only practical way to get this for most music is to buy a CD and rip it. If I could get this online (iTunes, Amazon, etc.), they would get all of my business. As long as they offer only lossy-compressed files, they will get none of it.
Yea, I've been wondering for two years when Apple will bump up to 32 GB base models. Flash memory is so cheap now! For less than $100, I can buy a 128 GB flash drive off of Amazon. For an extra $100, you only double in memory with the iPhone. I know chips have to be smaller and fast, but come on Apple! I have no music or movies/TV shows on my iPhone because it's littered with Apps and mostly Photos/Video. All of my music has to be streamed which takes up DATA. They need to put the puzzle pieces together. PEOPLE HATE DATA CAPS! WHY MAKE US STREAM WITH LIMITED STORAGE SPACE?
And yea, iTunes Match makes people pirate more. There's a legal loop hole... Jaksta+Spotify Browser+MP3 Converter+TuneUp+iTunes Match=Free Music (no monthly subscriptions)
You know that. And I know that. But it sounds like Apple actually thought streaming would drive sales.
Those 3200 songs will be the same for infinity. Ask me how much I use that Captain Jack CD from the 90'ties... with spotify i can pick 3333 new songs every day. One flick go a switch and that playlist is available offline, flick again and its deleted off the phone. Deleted all my pirated mp3's and haven't downloaded anything since it came available in my country. At a party, you got 3200 mp3's to select between, i got millions.
I remember those days. I'll never buy anything from iTunes, but the Mrs stopped when she found the shopping cart was gone. Has to be one of the stupidest things they have removed.
Lets stop people being able to make a selection of items to buy. we'll call it a feature to save them time.
I'm buying more music on iTunes than I ever have before. I actually don't like the streaming model like Spotify. I realized that I like owning my music, albiet digitally, I still have the file.