Report Insists Apple Will Eliminate iTunes Store Music Downloads in Future

[adamjackson]

I prefer to buy my music. Streaming is OK, but when their services are down, so is my music.

Is this true though with Apple?

I thought all services now, even non-DRM ones you don't own the music. It was the same with CDs. Purchasing the CD gave you a perpetual right to play the album as much as you'd like but you are not the owner. Any copyright holder could come in and take the CD without cause and without reimbursing you. It's never happened but it could.

Streaming is renting but legally so is purchased music. It's never yours.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

Streaming is renting but legally so is purchased music. It's never yours.

Then I should probably keep quiet about the CDs I've burned with downloaded music.

Can already hear the sirens in the distance...

 

[Mactendo]

17" MBP, Mac Pro, Aperture, Final Cut Pro, OS X, iOS, iPhone without audio jack, ugly iPhone battery, music downloads... Tim Cook is killing Apple on purpose.

 

[TallManNY]

I'm renting going forward as long as it is in the ballpark of $10 a month. I signed up for Apple Music. I suspect the App will get better this Summer and continue to get better from hear on (no pun intended). It will integrate with my Apple TV this Summer. It already integrates with my Mac. I'm just going to pay my $120 per year and never have to think about the cost of music again. I will never notice the $10 per month on my credit card bill, so it almost seems like it is free anyway. So I can see purchases decreasing.

But all that said, I don't think Apple is going to get rid of the ability. Not as long as it is still a billion dollar business and also not if this is something that the top artists really want (see Adel's release). And keep in mind that streaming is not going to be available world wide, so no sense in having purchase options available in some countries and not in others. That is silly.

 

[dennysanders]

so this kills all iPods and ability to listen to music without burning data. terrible idea, cannot believe this would even be considered.

you can download the songs to your device, using apple music.

 

[Loge]

Is this true though with Apple?

I thought all services now, even non-DRM ones you don't own the music. It was the same with CDs. Purchasing the CD gave you a perpetual right to play the album as much as you'd like but you are not the owner. Any copyright holder could come in and take the CD without cause and without reimbursing you. It's never happened but it could.

Streaming is renting but legally so is purchased music. It's never yours.

A copyright holder can come into your home and remove CDs from your collection? Really?

And no one is talking about owning the rights to the song. "Owning" in this context means being able to play it in perpetuity without further payment. Which makes it fundamentally different from streaming.

 

[GermanSuplex]

Is this true though with Apple?

I thought all services now, even non-DRM ones you don't own the music. It was the same with CDs. Purchasing the CD gave you a perpetual right to play the album as much as you'd like but you are not the owner. Any copyright holder could come in and take the CD without cause and without reimbursing you. It's never happened but it could.

Streaming is renting but legally so is purchased music. It's never yours.

When people say they want to 'own' their music, they obviously aren't talking about the copyrights... They simply don't want to be dependent on a monthly fee or being online to enjoy their music. With CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and DRM-free digital files, you are free of those issues.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I for one wouldn't care for this at all.

Apple Music costs £10 a month; that's a service charge that allows me to 'lend' music as long as I'm paying up. But for this value to be equal to not signing up, I would have to be spending the equivalent of £10 on music purchases alone each month. And for that, I would actually own my music, which I could do whatever I wanted with; without the hassle of disappearing tracks or other library problems.

For some I'm sure it's a great deal, especially if you want to listen to lots of new music; but if like myself you have a collection that's pretty much 'established', and you'll only buy the odd new album or tracks, a store like iTunes is essential.

Maybe the should just separate the store into its own Mac app? They did it with iOS...

 

[oneMadRssn]

I really doubt this is true. The reason is Apple has nothing to gain, and something to lose.

Eliminating the iTunes Music Store will not save any overhead. They have to host the music files anyway for Apple Music. Once the store is up, other than maintenance, it's really self-sustaining. Again, all the music files and artist bios and all are shared with Apple Music. The only think the store adds is the "buy" button.

However, eliminating the iTunes Music Store will be giving up some revenue. Yes it's shrinking, yes Apple Music is more profitable, but there is some segment of the population that doesn't want a subscription and is willing to buy music. There is no reason to give up the revenue from those folks when keeping them is essentially free.

So again, Apple has nothing to gain from doing it.

If Apple wants to drive buyers to become subscribers, better marketing of Apple Music and improvements to the Apple Music service are the way to do it. Eliminating the other option is a heavy-handed and likely to result in resentment.

 

[gkarris]

Back to buying CDs, I suppose.

People at the used Music/Movie/Games store with handfuls of discs in their hands - who's laughing now?

What gets me - physical copies of new videogames same price as downloads, used copies of older games are cheaper than the download prices...

Wow, just wow....

 

[macaximx]

Steve knew what I wanted before I did. Tim doesn't!

 

[gnasher729]

They have already made non-subtle changes to push users towards streaming. They moved all radio stations behind the pay wall for one. ?

"View" menu, "Media Kind", "Internet Radio" or Command-9, and you have 100s of internet radio stations.

 

[dennysanders]

I'll go somewhere else then. I'm not always on a network where I can stream, and don't always want to use my data plan to listen to music. What is one to do on a plane if they don't want to pay for an expensive WiFi plan? I doubt this will ever happen, but it's a stupid move if it does.

you can download songs to your device with apple music.

 

[Galley]

There are approximately 13 million tracks that are available for purchase on the iTunes Store, but not available for streaming an Apple Music.

 

[gnasher729]

I'm surprised so many people on here are clinging to the old model. Where you upset about losing the floppy and the CD too? What is so great about "owning"* your music in digital format? I understand the draw of physical media but the only difference here is you pay a flat $10/month. If it's because you can't access the Internet everywhere you're in a fast-shrinking minority.

Ok, explain to me how I get the internet when I'm on London Underground going to work. And explain to me how I get Internet everywhere without paying through the nose. $10 per month is a lot of money. I don't have rich parents. My kids have, and my grand children have rich grandparents, but I'm an orphan having to make my own money

 

[pat500000]

Me no like Apple Music...me listen to YouTube. ( barbarian tone)

 

[gnasher729]

Never bought anything from the Apple store. It's way too expensive. I'd sooner buy the CD and keep the music "forever" than be tied to Apple. At least with CDs and MP3s I can move to whatever platform I want.

I've got some excellent deals there. And with AAC, I can move to whatever platform I want.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Now this doesn't make sense

It does to Apple.
All your Biebers are belong to us.

 

[gnasher729]

Come to the dark side, do you really listen to this "collection" of yours years after buying a song/album? I find it's usually the same people who like to collect DVD's, Bluray's and then watch the movie only twice ever.

Music and videos are different things. I watch movies _once_ (with very few exceptions that I can watch over and over again). I listen to audiobooks once. Music, I can listen to again and again and again.
[doublepost=1465403075][/doublepost]

iTunes will get a redesign for OS X 10.12, can't wait to see them show it at WWDC.

Will it be a disaster like 12.4?

 

[Glideslope]

Tim never should have let Eddy off the leash SJ kept him on. Eddy is responsible for all of the Music Mayhem.

 

[CaTOAGU]

.

Eroding the concept of ownership or is it eroding the concept of source? Current business models are forced into regional models. Digital works better as a global model. Antiquated models.

At the moment I'd say it's eroding the concept of ownership, although in theory it should be eroding the concept of source as well. Hopefully one day it will.

 

[2010mini]

It does to Apple.
All your Biebers are belong to us.

What's a Bieber?

 

[gnasher729]

Talking about streaming, let me do one a bit extreme case. Assume an artist will be paid for $0.10/play. Then maybe 10000 play would this artist earn $1000 from that single song. And assume this artist has created 10 songs, then $10000.

Excuse me, but artists are not paid $0.10 per play. More like 0.10 cents per play. If they are lucky. You are overestimating their income by a factor 100.

Well, a tiny bit better apparently, but still nowhere near a cent per play:

http://www.informationisbeautiful.n...ic-streaming-services-royalty-rates-compared/

 

[T-R-S]

I have been an Apple iTunes label since 2006 - while downloads have dropped off in sales - downloads are still a significant revenue stream for us. As a user I still download as I travel a lot and I don't have internet in a lot of remote locations. Plus now airlines are eliminating free entertainment now so bring your own especially on long flights is must.

 

[ohio.emt]

It's a 100% true story because it's inevitable. You think Apple is going to waste money running a music store forever?

Why wouldn't they? As long as they have the streaming service it's not like it's costing them anything. They still have to pay to store and host the media, and a payment processor for you subscription. So why wouldn't they continue to sell downloads.