Apple has recently denied reports suggesting that they are likely to retire the iTunes Music Store as soon as 2019.

Apple launched their own streaming service Apple Music back in 2015 – Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the time: “It will change the way you experience music forever” but rumours say that a “phase-out” is currently underway.

Apple has recently bought the popular music recognition app Shazam. A service that was launched back in 1999 and that allows users to identify songs by listening to a short audio clip, before revealing the artist and song title. Nowadays, Shazam can also identify TV shows, movies and advertisements – and it links users to their preferred streaming service. Shazam already integrates with Apple’s Siri and Apple Music, as well as Spotify and Snapchat.

Streaming has almost killed digital download since the advent of streaming giants such as Spotify, and this trend can only worsen with Apple possibly retiring music downloads from its iTunes store in the near future. Many think that the “phase-out” process began last year, when Apple launched their flagship streaming service Apple Music.

According to data from a market research carried out by Nielsen, track downloads collapsed over 24% in the first six months of 2017 (albums fell just under 20%) and forecasts suggest both will fall another 30% lower next year.

It is very likely that everyone’s download collections will be “migrated” to Apple Music accounts – including playlists and data – with downloads kept for the tracks that are currently unavailable for streaming. These Apple Music accounts won’t presumably be free, but a standard three-month trial could be offered.

Downloads won’t ever stop working, but music lovers won’t be able to purchase their favourite tracks from iTunes anymore.

Wriiten By: Valentina Guidi

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George Millington

Journalist at Contact Me

George Millington is a music journalist and reviewer situated in central London. He does not write about a single genre but rather the commercial music industry as a whole. His first album was by The Beatles, which he purchased secondhand from a charity shop in his neighbourhood.

He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.

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