Apple Said To Be Ending iTunes

Bloomberg is reporting Apple plans to update the app its users access music, effectively “ending” iTunes. Users will access music through a “Music app,” as the company is said to be expanding aggressively beyond hardware.

“iTunes has been the way Apple users listen to music, watch movies and TV shows, hear podcasts, and manage their devices for almost two decades,” says the outlet’s Mark Gurman. “The company is launching a trio of new apps for the Mac – Music, TV, and Podcasts – to replace iTunes. That matches Apple’s media app strategy on iPhones and iPads. Without iTunes, customers can manage their Apple gadgets through the Music app.”

The report, which has been rumored for years, comes ahead of Apple Inc.’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins at noon CT Monday (June 3) with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and other leaders revealing such updates in San Jose, California.

Rolling Stone similarly notes, “Users can expect the new Music app to offer some of the same functionalities that iTunes currently does — such as purchasing songs and syncing phones — just with a sleeker interface that’s free of the outdated and oft-bemoaned features of the heritage product, and more closely bundled with streaming service Apple Music.

“But the scrapping of iTunes’ brand symbolizes a lot, too,” continued the outlet’s Amy X. Wang. “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. That’s crucial for Apple’s 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.”

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LB Cantrell

LB Cantrell is Editor/Director of Operations at MusicRow magazine, where she oversees, manages and executes all company operations. LB oversees all MusicRow-related content, including the publication’s six annual print issues and online news. She is a Georgia native and a graduate of the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University.

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