iTunes is History; Streaming is the Future

The End of an Era

The end of an era, or at least that’s what it felt like upon hearing the news. As you may have heard by now, Apple is getting rid of one of its most popular features, iTunes. iTunes was first introduced to us in 2003 as a simple way for Apple users to buy and download all of their favorite songs, on demand. Before iTunes, customers would have to go to stores in order to be able to purchase music. iTunes allowed its users to finally be able to do this in the comfort of their homes. It provided easier access. It completely changed the way we bought music and the way the music industry provided it to us. Needless to say, it was a sad feeling hearing that they’re taking it away.

A Streaming Service

If we’re being honest, iTunes not being Apple’s main focus for distributing music is not much of a surprise. Seeing as streaming has taken over the music industry, Apple shifting its main focus to Apple Music is actually the smarter choice. Apple Music currently fosters 56million+ subscriptions, as it continues to grow. Streaming is the future of the music industry, and Apple understands that. If they want to remain in competition with the current front runner in streaming, Spotify, this is the best option.

Although they are getting rid of iTunes, they are not getting rid of your ability to download music. They are only taking away the iTunes app, and moving all of its features (music, podcasts, etc.) to their own separate apps. From my perspective, I view this act as a way of gradually trying to completely put the focus on streaming. I do not disagree with Apple’s decision; business is business. However, you can’t help but feel a little sad seeing something you loved for so long, turn into nothing but a memory.