Apple bids farewell to iTunes, creates separate media apps for music, TV and podcasts
After 18 years, Apple is all set to say adieu to iTunes.
On Monday, the tech giant announced that the online storefront for music, movies and more is being discontinued and will make way for other media apps.
To replace iTunes, Apple will roll out desktop apps Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. These apps are designed to watch the way media is categorized on mobile devices of iPhone and iPad.
At the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Craig Federighi, VP software engineering at Apple said, "The future of iTunes is not one app, but three."
The update is part of Apple rolling out a new operating system for Mac computers, nicknamed Catalina.
With the new rollout and the changes, Apple hopes to simplify the experience for consumers. Apple Music will now be the home for all Apple users' music and will give them access to over 50 million songs, playlist and music videos along with their entire pre-existing music libraries, which includes downloaded and purchased music, as well as the songs ripped from a CD. The iTunes Music Store will now also live in the Apple Music app for purchasing songs and album.
Apple TV for the desktop will offer a similar experience of the app on other devices, offering third-party subscription channels and over 100,000 movies and TV shows to buy or rent. Apple's TV+ subscription for original shows launches this fall, following which, it will also be available through the Apple TV app.
In the meanwhile, the Podcasts app will offer access to over 700,000 shows in an environment similar to the pre-existing iPhone app.
When iTunes launched in the early 2000s, it was a game changer in the entertainment industry.
The music industry at that time was being crushed by a rise in illegal downloading through sites such as Napster, but iTunes provided a legal way for consumers to make digital copies of their physical CDs, and then a few years later, to buy digital versions. Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and former CEO, had convinced all major record labels to offer their music in the online storefront. In no time, one could purchase or rent movies, TV shows, podcasts, apps and books.
Music consumption, however, has undergone an evolution since. iTunes' popularity started to wane as more and more people turned to music streaming services. To tackle this, in 2015, Apple launched its very own Apple Music. The $15-monthly service has more than 50 million subscribers.
Apple has started investing heavily in streaming video - with the plan to launch their video service Apple TV+ this fall. The company already offers streaming TV and movies through its TV app for Apple TV, iPad and iPhone. In the meanwhile, podcasts have a dedicated app for iPhones and iPads since 2012.
If you have a news scoop or an interesting story for us, please reach out to us at (323) 421-7514