Gary
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Post by Gary on May 31, 2019 14:16:18 GMT -5
Apple Is Finally Killing iTunes
Farewell to a clunky but world-shattering iconBy Amy X. Wang Amy X. Wang www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/apple-is-finally-killing-itunes-842750/Steve Jobs presents the iTunes Music Store in 2004. Ray Tang/REX/Shutterstock Itβs the end of a music era. Nearly two decades after launching iTunes and ripping up the retail-store model of album purchases, Apple is ready to retire the iconic product, according to Bloomberg. During the software keynote at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California next Monday, the tech giant is set the replace iTunes with standalone music, television and podcast apps. The move, which has been rumored for years now, will align Appleβs media strategy across the board: iPhones and iPads already offer separate Music, TV and Podcast apps in lieu of the centralized iTunes app that lives on Macs and Macbooks. Users can expect the new Music app to offer some of the same functionalities that iTunes currently does β such as purchasing songs and syncing phones β just with a sleeker interface thatβs free of the outdated and oft-bemoaned features of the heritage product.But the scrapping of iTunesβ brand symbolizes a lot, too. By portioning out its music, television and podcast offerings into three separate platforms, Apple will pointedly draw attention to itself as a multifaceted entertainment services provider, no longer as a hardware company that happens to sell entertainment through one of its many apps. Thatβs crucial for Appleβs future, as the company combats sluggish phone sales with aggressive growth in its services division. At WWDC this year, according to various reports, Apple is planning to buff up other apps including Books, Messages and Mail; it also announced ambitious plans for original video programming featuring the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell just a few months ago, in another bid to grow its content presence in entertainment industries. Welcome as the death of iTunes may be to frustrated users, the software will forever deserve credit for the revolution it engineered in the early 2000s. Before iTunes debuted, the music industry was tearing its hair out trying to combat illegal file-sharing on Napster; Jobsβ new product presented the digital eraβs first sustainable, user-friendly way to listen to music. Other firms like Sony and Microsoft had toyed with the idea of digital record stores, yet they βwere technology companies that knew how to build disc players and hardware, but they werenβt companies that had demonstrated Appleβs sophistication with regard to software,β Warner Musicβs vice president Paul Vidich recalled to Rolling Stone in 2013, on the iTunes Storeβs 10th anniversary. βIt really took a company that was able to bridge those two things and come up with an attractive consumer product.β
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2019 14:17:42 GMT -5
I never liked the music, video, podcast, etc. all being part of one app anyway.
Iβm assuming/hoping the Music app will not be streaming only.
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Gary
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Post by Gary on May 31, 2019 14:19:07 GMT -5
You can still purchase songs on the new app - so it appears
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on May 31, 2019 14:41:22 GMT -5
And what happens to any album art, etc. that you have in iTunes?
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Post by owenlovesmusic on May 31, 2019 14:49:04 GMT -5
Nooooo
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pancakes
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Post by pancakes on May 31, 2019 15:54:34 GMT -5
As someone who still maintains a digital music library as the primary listening source, this news is heartbreaking. I really hope they have a smooth migration plan for users like me, who have been keeping all the tagging info intact for an extremely long time. Otherwise, does anyone know what happens if you donβt succumb to the update?
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on May 31, 2019 16:09:44 GMT -5
The iTunes software on my computer is how I listen to music with dozens of playlists that I regularly maintain...so Iβm not sure what happens next. I assume I wonβt be forced to update it? I donβt need the store or anything else since I mainly use it for playback.
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yog
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Post by yog on May 31, 2019 16:16:08 GMT -5
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Troublemaker
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Post by Troublemaker on May 31, 2019 16:42:32 GMT -5
This should be interesting. As long as I can still buy music and hopefully they find a way to make syncing less cumbersome, I couldnβt care less anyway. I gave up on them a long time ago
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Nick
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Post by Nick on May 31, 2019 17:55:46 GMT -5
Also curious how this will work as over 90% of my itunes library is music I ripped on from my own CD's over the years.
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on May 31, 2019 18:15:32 GMT -5
So it's not really dead, they're just combining it and the streaming service all together in one app like Google Play does?
I knew there was no way iTunes was being shut down already. Even in today's climate it's still turning a profit for Apple and one of the industry's biggest players in music sales. Hell, the digital sales climate of todayis very similar to what it was in 2005. It wouldn't be wise of Apple to close the service down entirely yet. The title makes it seems way more impactful on the industry than it actually will be. The concept of iTunes will live on, just under a new name and format. The option to purchase digital music will not be going away.
I don't use the iTunes player anymore, but I do wonder how it's going to be altered with this change as I presume thousands if not millions of people still use the iTunes player to listen to music they purchased years ago.
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jebsib
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Post by jebsib on May 31, 2019 19:22:13 GMT -5
This better retain all the Playlist / Cover art / chart position meta data of all 10,000 of my songs! Migration better be seamless. I'm worried.
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Choco
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Post by Choco on May 31, 2019 19:37:11 GMT -5
This better retain all the Playlist / Cover art / chart position meta data of all 10,000 of my songs! Migration better be seamless. I'm worried. I'm guessing we won't be forced to update. I haven't actually updated iTunes in months, because it breaks Last.FM, which is a big deal for me. iTunes has always been kind of a mess. It consumes way too much memory and resources for a music app (which is the only thing I use on the app). Not sure where I'll migrate if forced to update, specially since I still sync and use my old iPod Touch.
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forg
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Post by forg on May 31, 2019 20:52:15 GMT -5
I wished they just retained the iTunes branding for all their music services but I guess iTunes is just too associated with downloading music now and they want something broad like Apple Music
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jdanton2
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Post by jdanton2 on Jun 1, 2019 6:51:49 GMT -5
with the ending of itunes i am wondering if Kworb will be able to track the sales with the new version.
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jun 1, 2019 7:20:42 GMT -5
What of those without a smartphone (like moi)? If this is going to be an app, what will become of the iTunes software on desktops, with all the album art, etc. of tracks maintained on that platform? An app for desktop? Inquiring minds...
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Post by thegreatdivine on Jun 1, 2019 8:05:19 GMT -5
RIP indeed
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jun 1, 2019 8:08:19 GMT -5
Plus my play counts. It's not the worst thing in the world but my play counts have been ongoing since 2009 lmao
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fhas
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Post by fhas on Jun 1, 2019 8:27:54 GMT -5
with the ending of itunes i am wondering if Kworb will be able to track the sales with the new version. Yep... that's the thing that I wanna know the most. Imagine not having sales data when a song is selling 100k+. Geez... any predictions would be hard as f....
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Gary
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Post by Gary on Jun 1, 2019 9:48:58 GMT -5
Kworb is a smart guy, I am sure he will figure it out
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jun 1, 2019 11:10:28 GMT -5
As long as everything that was purchased via iTunes is accessible, and a smart device is not required to access them, then it shouldn't be much of an issue.
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yog
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Post by yog on Jun 1, 2019 12:45:13 GMT -5
As long as everything that was purchased via iTunes is accessible, and a smart device is not required to access them, then it shouldn't be much of an issue. I'mο»Ώ pretty sure that all the pre-orders and music libraries will be transferred to Apple Music, itunes will be replaced with more efficient app.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2019 14:28:22 GMT -5
So it's not really dead, they're just combining it and the streaming service all together in one app like Google Play does? I knew there was no way iTunes was being shut down already. Even in today's climate it's still turning a profit for Apple and one of the industry's biggest players in music sales. Hell, the digital sales climate of todayis very similar to what it was in 2005. It wouldn't be wise of Apple to close the service down entirely yet. The title makes it seems way more impactful on the industry than it actually will be. The concept of iTunes will live on, just under a new name and format. The option to purchase digital music will not be going away. I don't use the iTunes player anymore, but I do wonder how it's going to be altered with this change as I presume thousands if not millions of people still use the iTunes player to listen to music they purchased years ago. Isn't it already combined with streaming? Right now the iTunes app on my Mac has a "Music" tab which is which is iTunes and Apple Music combined. Downloading something from Apple Music puts it together in a library with your iTunes purchases. There are tabs for changing to "Podcast", "Film", "TV Programme" and "Audiobooks". I'm assuming they're just going to make separate apps for those, like on iOS, but that shouldn't really affect the music part. Yes. Itβs supposed to be like the iPhone app which combines the old iTunes music functionality with the streaming functionality. It will be music only.
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Caviar
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Post by Caviar on Jun 1, 2019 14:53:33 GMT -5
I havenβt used iTunes in years.
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Juanca
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Post by Juanca on Jun 1, 2019 16:59:30 GMT -5
Iβve just purchased about 25 songs in the past week... I still prefer paying for iTunes purchases than for monthly streamline services. I know. Iβm old. Lol
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Post by DiscoπΆοΈπ on Jun 1, 2019 20:32:40 GMT -5
Iβve just purchased about 25 songs in the past week... I still prefer paying for iTunes purchases than for monthly streamline services. I know. Iβm old. Lol I like purchasing too. Some of the music I like is not available to stream because those artists don't want their music on those platforms because they will not get enough streams to ever generate any sort of meaningful royalties for themselves so it's pointless to basically let it be there for free. Other music was available to stream at one point but then due to issues with rights and other stuff, it got removed and there is no other way to hear it now. At least if you have bought it previously, you can still hear it even if it is no longer available to purchase now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2019 3:11:02 GMT -5
Okay but what gonna happen to my redeemed iTunes gift cards I got 30 dollars in credit
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jun 2, 2019 15:38:00 GMT -5
Purchasing the actual music is always the safest, though today's generation doesn't think in those terms. I mean, what happens if, one day, these streaming services crash/cease? Likelihood may not be high, but there's always the chance.
I have wondered how much streaming has impacted home-video sales- has it been as drastic an impact as it has been on music sales?
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forg
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Post by forg on Jun 2, 2019 18:34:18 GMT -5
Yeah home video sales have dropped big as well but not as drastic as music sales. Movies are still thriving especially for the blockbusters and franchises but TV DVDs have definitely declined with the rise of Netflix et al.
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Gary
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Post by Gary on Jun 3, 2019 8:26:26 GMT -5
Apple is killing off iTunes, reports say By Chris Ciaccia | Fox News
Just a few months after it became an adult, Apple is killing off one of its most controversial creations.
Launched January 9, 2001, the tech giant is set to end its music and movie media player, iTunes, according to Bloomberg. The move, which will be announced at Apple's developer conference, had been widely expected, given the rise of streaming services, including Apple Music and its soon-to-be-launched Apple TV+.
The brainchild of Steve Jobs, iTunes ushered in an era where it made it easy to access music legally. Users could pay as little as 99 cents for a song or a similar amount for an episode of a TV show or movie, but it had outlived its usefulness. Over the past several years, there were a seemingly endless string of complaints from users about its cluttered nature, the amount of computing power it took to run the program and other concerns.
APPLE WWDC PREVIEW: HERE'S THE NEW STUFF THAT'S COMING
To replace iTunes, Apple will launch three new apps for the Mac, Music, TV and Podcasts, bringing it in line with Apple's strategy for iOS devices, which already have dedicated Music, TV and Podcast apps.
Apple has already wiped the iTunes' social networking accounts clean. Both the Instagram and the Facebook page still exist, but all the posts have been deleted.
As Apple looks to smooth out its revenue and focus more on services, it has turned the focus towards initiatives such as Apple Music, which has more than 50 million paying subscribers and lets users access more than 45 million songs for $9.99 a month.
In addition to getting rid of iTunes, Apple will announce several new updates to its operating systems, including iOS, macOS and watchOS. New health features are expected to be incorporated into iOS and watchOS, including a revamped Health app that will let users know how loud they are listening to music or movies on their device or headphones.
Appleβs mobile operating system is tipped to add dark mode, easing the strain on users' eyes and increasing battery life.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple will make these announcements and more when its keynote address starts at 1 p.m. EST.
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