A file photo of then Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaking in London during the launch of the European iTunes online music store. (Image source: Reuters/File)It was back in January 9, 2001, when Apple co-founder and then CEO Steve Jobs introduced the company’s iTunes software at the Macworld Expo 2001 in San Francisco, the product that started a “music revolution” by bringing in digital music in the 21st century. After a little over 18 years, with Jobs long gone, the company is reportedly planning to bring an end to the app.
After nearly two decades, the technology giant and maker of the iPhones, Macs and iPads, is all set to finally announce the shut down of iTunes at its developer conference that kicks off on Monday, Bloomberg reported.
iTunes was the first and probably one of the largest software, which offered a solution to the music industry’s fight against piracy particularly in the US. The app soon became a one-stop shop for its users to consume any media that includes music, movies, and TV. The product has heavily contributed to the growth of the music industry across the world by eliminating piracy. So much so, that as per a 2018 year-end report by the Recording Industry Association of America, music streaming amounted to a whopping 75 per cent of the music industry’s revenue in the US.
However, the latest news about iTunes may not be too shocking for many as there have been rumours that have been surrounding the app for a few years now as various other subscription-based streaming services which also include company’s own Apple Music, have overtaken iTunes’ music downloads.
But then, if iTunes has been so good for years, then why is Apple bringing down the curtain on it? Apple is planning to divide different types of media by replacing iTunes with three new apps – Apple Music, Apple TV, and Podcasts. The tech giant has already brought the change on iPads and iPhones, which now offer the three apps. And it is just a matter of time before the company starts migrating its Mac and MacBook users to these apps.
While the Apple Music app is likely to retain keep some of the key features of iTunes, including song purchases and phone syncing, the loss of iTunes does bring nostalgia to some of Apple’s old users.
Also read: Apple plans end of iTunes, to reveal glimpses of its next era of apps and devices
Steve Jobs was once quoted “Apple has done what Apple does best — make complex applications easy, and make them even more powerful in the process. iTunes is miles ahead of every other jukebox application, and we hope its dramatically simpler user interface will bring even more people into the digital music revolution.”
The end of iTunes may seem like an end of an era, it will be interesting to see how Apple improves upon iTunes’ functionalities in their apps.
