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How long does iTunes have left?

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AcerBen View member profile	3rd May 2018, 05:03 PM Post #81
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 3,628 User: 3,429	It's way too early to stop it in the UK. We're still buying a million downloads a week! Can understand Apple's reasoning for stopping it, but some parts of the industry must still rely on download sales to make a living.


danG View member profile	17th June 2018, 09:40 AM Post #82
🔥🚀🔥 Joined: 30 August 2010 Posts: 74,572 User: 11,746	The death of iTunes is coming and sooner than you thought... QUOTE ITUNES WILL BEGIN TO SHUT DOWN ITS PAID DOWNLOAD SERVICE IN MARCH 2019 Since December, rumors have been brewing that Apple will be shutting down its iTunes Music Store as its streaming service, Apple Music, continues to grow exponentially. Those rumors have continued month after month, sometimes with Apple executives responding, sometimes not. The latest nail in the coffin was at the end of March, when departing executive Jimmy Iovine commented on the matter. “If I’m honest, it’s when people stop buying,” he said. “It’s very simple.” Now, according to “internal roadmaps” and reported by Digital Music News, that coffin is sealed shut. The service will reportedly officially announce the shut down on March 31, 2019. At that point, Apple will begin to phase out the store portion of the service, giving users plenty of time to get their last licks in. It’s noted that any content purchased through iTunes (MP3s, AACs, DRM-protected songs) will continue to work on all devices. Even iTunes itself will remain in some form, though its “paid download offering,” as referred to by DMN, will be excised. An official final date for the service likely won’t come until next year, but we’ll let you know beforehand if it does. https://www.youredm.com/2018/04/10/itunes-s...oad-march-2019/ Once iTunes is gone I imagine there'll be very little music downloads and the chart will basically be a streaming chart.


Klaus View member profile	17th June 2018, 09:46 AM Post #83
❤️❤️➕🟦 Joined: 3 June 2012 Posts: 22,246 User: 17,160	brexits fault


Brightest Blue View member profile	17th June 2018, 09:52 AM Post #84
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 10 April 2016 Posts: 27,025 User: 23,155	Ugh


Grandwicky View member profile	17th June 2018, 10:10 AM Post #85
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 21,089 User: 49	QUOTE(danG @ Jun 17 2018, 10:40 AM) The death of iTunes is coming and sooner than you thought... Once iTunes is gone I imagine there'll be very little music downloads and the chart will basically be a streaming chart. You do know that they're other places that sell downloads, right? A million singles are still downloaded every week and the music industry won't let them stop selling music so I think people are misreading all of this including the guy in that article.. They won't stop selling music but they're going to instead re-brand it so it all just comes under Apple Music as they no longer have the 'i' brand for everything.


Steve201 View member profile	17th June 2018, 10:50 AM Post #86
Shakin Stevens Joined: 29 December 2007 Posts: 46,151 User: 5,138	No surprise considering beside each download there's advice to listen 'to a lot more music on Apple Music'!


T Boy View member profile	17th June 2018, 10:55 AM Post #87
Radical Pink Troll Joined: 11 March 2006 Posts: 26,603 User: 177	Pretty depressing. I’m sticking to CDs and may invest in Vinyl.


Grandwicky View member profile	17th June 2018, 11:05 AM Post #88
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 21,089 User: 49	I've been searching and that article is just repeating the same rumour and there has been alleged responses (please note I am not saying The Sn and the Epress are reliable but my point these are still rumours and it's still extremely unlikely they'll actually kill the ability to pay for music) https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/scienc...iPhone-iPad-iOS iTunes is NOT shutting down - Apple rubbishes rumours that it will scrap music player APPLE has hit back at rumours claiming the tech giant is planning on scrapping iTunes. Apple has denied rumours that iTunes will be shutting down. Alleged leaked reports had claimed the Cupertino-based firm was planning on phasing out iTunes by March 31 2019. This decision was reportedly made amid the huge popularity of streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify. However, Apple have now categorically hit out at the claims. Speaking to The Sun, an Apple spokesperson said it was “not true” that the firm was planning to scrap iTunes downloads. This week DJ Mag claimed that sources inside Apple had said iTunes downloads would be stopped next year. They said Apple could make an announcement about iTunes music downloads being stopped in early 2019 or by March 31 next year. DJMag added: “It's important to note these dates relate to an official announcement being made about iTunes ceasing music sales, starting a wind-down process, rather than the point at which the music will actually be taken off-sale. “Apple has also been quick to point out this will not affect people's ability to play downloaded music on any of the company's devices, and all tracks previously bought through iTunes, and users' current iTunes libraries, will still be fully playable.” The claims came after Apple had allegedly sent a letter to senior figures in the music industry last month. The document was labelled ‘the end of iTunes LP’ and outlined plans to remove a specific type of music bundle from the store, Metro reported. The letter allegedly said: “Apple will no longer accept new submissions of iTunes LPS after March 2018. “Existing LPs will be deprecated from the store during the remainder of 2018. Customers who have previously purchased an album containing an iTunes LP will still be able to download the additional content using iTunes Match.” LP stands for ‘long-playing’ and usually refers to a selection of songs with more tracks than a single release but slightly shorter than an album. However, for Apple it refers to a specific type of music bundle on the iTunes store. Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine has previously denied rumours that iTunes downloads would be “phased out” next year. But the former Beats bigwig told the BBC last month that such a move was inevitable. While he said there is no concrete timescale, Iovine said: "If I'm honest, it's when people stop buying. "It's very simple." Calm down everyone This post has been edited by Grandwicky: 17th June 2018, 11:07 AM


sammy01 View member profile	17th June 2018, 05:50 PM Post #89
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 16 November 2009 Posts: 7,600 User: 9,988	QUOTE(Grandwicky @ Jun 17 2018, 11:10 AM) You do know that they're other places that sell downloads, right? A million singles are still downloaded every week and the music industry won't let them stop selling music so I think people are misreading all of this including the guy in that article.. They won't stop selling music but they're going to instead re-brand it so it all just comes under Apple Music as they no longer have the 'i' brand for everything. It's going to happen sooner than later and sales are regularly under 1m now which will be under 900k in a couple of months and so on. Sales are only going to dwindle.


Gambo View member profile	19th June 2018, 03:19 PM Post #90
BuzzJack Climber Joined: 29 July 2014 Posts: 198 User: 21,106	I've never used iTunes, preferring another online retailer, so the question for the likes of me who prefer to continue buying singles as downloads is how long it might take other competitors to cease their offerings after Apple pull out (okay I get that they're keen to emphasise there's no fixed date yet for that but let's face it, it's on its way and quite possibly during 2019 or '20 at latest). On the one hand Amazon, 7Digital et al might see it as worthwhile continuing to at least absorb the residual market iTunes will have left behind - which in a year's time may still represent over 500,000 tracks sold each week - for a few more years, or just follow suit and gradually shut-up shop. I suppose that may depend on whether each download retailer has a viable streaming platform in place; those that don't by now will likely struggle given the long-term domination of Spotify, and rising competition of Apple Music. So if they want to try and stay in business longer, they may seek to try and specialise in the sales sector, however much in decline it currently is. One note of caution to sound here, based on historical experience in recorded popular music consumption across the last 60 years: each time a format was in steep decline and presumed dead, it has ended up clinging-on, however tenuously and albeit as a niche product. Vinyl never completely died off even at its nadir in the late '90s and now is a relevant if modest sector of the physical market; cassette had died essentially by the early '00s but is seeing a very slight revival in the late '10s; CDs singles died by the early '10s and albums were assumed to follow, yet 50% of the (albeit declining overall) albums market remains on that format. The only significant past formats that have truly died out owing to the market moving on to better things are cartridge, shellac disc and mini-disc! Downloaded singles are dwindling rapidly in the face of streaming and albums downloads have never quite hit their stride, but there's nothing to say that they won't always have a small but relevant segment of the music-buying public, and who knows, possibly enjoy a revival in years to come - probably less on the basis of collectability and nostalgia as has been the case with vinyl and cassette, but a realisation that it's actually preferable in many ways to own a copy of something than rely on a streaming service to always provide what one needs to listen to. It might seem baseless, but so did the other turnarounds described above ten years before they happened. Digital sales have had their brief heyday. But it shouldn't and doesn't necessarily mean all means of purchasing in that format should disappear, even post-iTunes. This post has been edited by Gambo: 19th June 2018, 03:22 PM


___∆___ View member profile	19th June 2018, 06:51 PM Post #91
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 25 March 2007 Posts: 21,304 User: 3,155	I think the demise of iTunes and downloads will come rapidly tbh - I used to download albums and singles every single week without fail, in 2018 I think I’ve actually bought 3-4 releases and everything else has been streaming. There is no nostalgia associated with downloads in the same way as physicals so I think when people do switch over to streaming they will easily forget downloading - I do think however it could result in a boost for physical singles especially as acts look to connect with their fans in different ways and boost chart positions especially for acts such as Madonna, Kylie etc.,


Grandwicky View member profile	19th June 2018, 10:07 PM Post #92
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 21,089 User: 49	QUOTE(Gambo @ Jun 19 2018, 04:19 PM) I've never used iTunes, preferring another online retailer, so the question for the likes of me who prefer to continue buying singles as downloads is how long it might take other competitors to cease their offerings after Apple pull out (okay I get that they're keen to emphasise there's no fixed date yet for that but let's face it, it's on its way and quite possibly during 2019 or '20 at latest). On the one hand Amazon, 7Digital et al might see it as worthwhile continuing to at least absorb the residual market iTunes will have left behind - which in a year's time may still represent over 500,000 tracks sold each week - for a few more years, or just follow suit and gradually shut-up shop. I suppose that may depend on whether each download retailer has a viable streaming platform in place; those that don't by now will likely struggle given the long-term domination of Spotify, and rising competition of Apple Music. So if they want to try and stay in business longer, they may seek to try and specialise in the sales sector, however much in decline it currently is. One note of caution to sound here, based on historical experience in recorded popular music consumption across the last 60 years: each time a format was in steep decline and presumed dead, it has ended up clinging-on, however tenuously and albeit as a niche product. Vinyl never completely died off even at its nadir in the late '90s and now is a relevant if modest sector of the physical market; cassette had died essentially by the early '00s but is seeing a very slight revival in the late '10s; CDs singles died by the early '10s and albums were assumed to follow, yet 50% of the (albeit declining overall) albums market remains on that format. The only significant past formats that have truly died out owing to the market moving on to better things are cartridge, shellac disc and mini-disc! Downloaded singles are dwindling rapidly in the face of streaming and albums downloads have never quite hit their stride, but there's nothing to say that they won't always have a small but relevant segment of the music-buying public, and who knows, possibly enjoy a revival in years to come - probably less on the basis of collectability and nostalgia as has been the case with vinyl and cassette, but a realisation that it's actually preferable in many ways to own a copy of something than rely on a streaming service to always provide what one needs to listen to. It might seem baseless, but so did the other turnarounds described above ten years before they happened. Digital sales have had their brief heyday. But it shouldn't and doesn't necessarily mean all means of purchasing in that format should disappear, even post-iTunes. Hmm another interesting factor we could take into account is what would happen if Spotify became premium only? (wouldn't be surprised if that happened) would free users all pay for premium? Or would they see more value in maybe downloading a couple of songs instead? (ever notice that when songs get the hot hits boost on Spotify they sometimes get a boost on iTunes as well? As well as people buying less music due to streaming there are some people such as myself who have bought even more due to it) What if features like the ability to listen certain songs offline with no extra cost were taken away? Or if they put the price up or made one paid tier ad free with another more expensive tier ad free? iTunes may or may not be around in a couple of years but if it's not making money for the service or the artist then streaming won't be £10 a month infinite streaming either forever either, it will have to change it's beneficial for the provider, gives the artist money while also trying to keep the consumer. They said the physical format (particularly CDs) would be gone in a few years when downloads first came around and they're still here almost 15 years later and will still not completely go away anytime soon so there's no reason downloads will disappear entirely with or without iTunes, like Gambo said they will be other providers who will take those punters.


AcerBen View member profile	20th June 2018, 06:54 AM Post #93
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 3,628 User: 3,429	QUOTE(___∆___ @ Jun 19 2018, 07:51 PM) I think the demise of iTunes and downloads will come rapidly tbh - I used to download albums and singles every single week without fail, in 2018 I think I’ve actually bought 3-4 releases and everything else has been streaming. There is no nostalgia associated with downloads in the same way as physicals so I think when people do switch over to streaming they will easily forget downloading - I do think however it could result in a boost for physical singles especially as acts look to connect with their fans in different ways and boost chart positions especially for acts such as Madonna, Kylie etc., But you can't assume that everyone will switch so streaming. Some people will never pay £10 a month.


___∆___ View member profile	20th June 2018, 07:05 AM Post #94
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 25 March 2007 Posts: 21,304 User: 3,155	QUOTE(AcerBen @ Jun 20 2018, 07:54 AM) But you can't assume that everyone will switch so streaming. Some people will never pay £10 a month. I think people will have very limited options tbh - I can’t see Amazon etc., finding it worthwhile to carry on if iTunes does indeed stop. Also with Apple having a stronghold on smartphones if a new download start up comes along they will just make it as diffficult as possible to use them with an iPhone.