https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/History_of_iTunes

History of iTunes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The history of iTunes started in 2001. Initially conceived of as a simple music player, over time iTunes developed into a sophisticated multimedia content manager, hardware
synchronization manager and e-commerce platform. iTunes enables users to manage media content, create playlists, synchronize media content with handheld devices including
the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, re-image and update handheld devices, stream Internet radio and purchase music, films, television shows, and audiobooks via the iTunes Store.

History
Apple based the initial release of iTunes on SoundJam MP, a program developed by Bill Kincaid and released by Casady & Greene in 1999.[1] Apple purchased the program from Casady
& Greene in 2000. At the time of the purchase, Kincaid, Jeff Robbin and Dave Heller left Casady & Greene to continue development of the program as Apple employees. At Apple, the
developers simplified SoundJam's user interface, added the ability to burn CDs, and removed the program's recording feature and skin support.[2]
Apple released version 1.0 of the program under a new name "iTunes" on January 9, 2001 at Macworld San Francisco. Macintosh users immediately began poking through
iTunes's resource fork, where they discovered numerous strings and other resources that indicated that iTunes was a re-engineered Sound Jam MP. Casady & Greene ceased
distribution of SoundJam MP on June 1, 2001 at the request of the developers.[3]
Originally a Mac OS 9-only application, iTunes began to support Mac OS X with the release of version 1.1 in March 2001. Release 2.0 added support for a then-new product, the
iPod.[4] Version 3 dropped Mac OS 9 support but added smart playlists and a ratings system.[5] In April 2003, version 4.0 introduced the iTunes Store; in October, version 4.1 added
support for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.[6] Introduced at Macworld 2005 with the new iPod Shuffle, Version 4.7.1 introduced the ability to convert higher-bitrate songs to
128kbit/s AAC automatically, as these devices did not natively support audio encoded in AIFF or Apple Lossless formats, also improving the value proposition of the Shuffle's limited
flash-only storage.[7] Version 7.0 introduced gapless playback and Cover Flow in September 2006.[8] In March 2007, iTunes 7.1 added support for Windows Vista,[9] and 7.3.2 was the last
Windows 2000 version.[10]
iTunes lacked support for 64-bit versions of Windows until the 7.6 update on January 16, 2008. iTunes is currently supported under any 64-bit version of Windows, although the iTunes
executable was still 32-bit until version 12.1. The 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are not supported by Apple, but a workaround has been devised for both
operating systems.[11] Version 8.0 added Genius playlists, grid view, and a new default visualizer.[12]
iTunes 9 added "Home Share" enabling automatic updating of purchased items across other computers on the same subnet and offers a new iTunes Store UI. Genius Mixes were added,
as well as improved App synchronization abilities, extending the iPod Shuffle 128 kbit/s down-convert feature to all of Apple's AAC-capable devices.[13] It also adds iTunes LPs to the
store, which gives additional media with an album. Apple added iTunes Extras as well to the store, which adds content usually reserved for films on DVD and Blu-ray discs.[14] Both iTunes
LPs and Extras use web-standards HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.[15]
On September 1, 2010, Apple held their annual music press event where they unveiled an updated version: iTunes 10. The new version was available for download later that day. One
major feature includes the integration of "iTunes Ping", which brings a social factor to the iTunes experience. Apple CEO Steve Jobs also announced a new logo, one without a CD in the
background because of the increasing popularity of iTunes digital downloads.
In October 2012, Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, the refresh of the iPod and Mac lines, and the upcoming release of iTunes 11. Slated for release by the end
of October, the launch was pushed back to November 29, 2012. This version included tighter integration with iCloud, and a new user interface. Users' libraries now include all media they
have stored in their iCloud account, along with any media unique to the device they are using. Media files stored in the cloud don't need to be downloaded before playing, allowing a
larger collection to be accessible without increased disk usage. The new user interface includes a refreshed grid view, which replaces Cover Flow as the default layout method. With this
change, Cover Flow is no longer available within the application. With the release of this software, the iTunes Store was redesigned to remain consistent with the new interface, and the
stores available on iOS devices. The social element Ping was also removed and replaced by increased Twitter and Facebook integration. Other minor changes included disabling the
sidebar by default, and slightly altering the icon to match that of the Mac App Store better.
On October 16, 2014, Apple released iTunes 12, with a redesigned icon and interface, inspired by OS X Yosemite. With iTunes 12.1 and later, there is a new widget for notification center
in OS X Yosemite, which allows the user to see what's playing, skip ahead, and even buy songs from iTunes Radio, right from notification center. It also improves performance when
syncing to an iOS device.
iTunes has been credited with accelerating shifts within the music industry. The pricing structure of iTunes encouraged the sale of single songs, allowing users to abandon the purchase
of more expensive albums. This hastened the end of the Album Era in popular music.
On April 26, 2018, Apple released iTunes 12 for Windows 10 via the Windows Store. The Universal Windows Platform app retains all features available in the desktop version, but will be
updated and available through the Windows Store.[16]
On June 3, 2019, Apple stated that they would no longer include iTunes with future Mac computers. Starting with the operating system macOS Catalina, Apple instead split iTunes into
separate apps: Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts.[17][18] iTunes continues to be available on Windows and on macOS operating systems prior to Catalina.[18][17] Users can also still
install iTunes versions 10, 11, and 12 on macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur using the Retroactive app.[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes

iTunes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Not to be confused with Apple Music or App Store (iOS).
This article is about the application software. For the media store, see iTunes Store. For other uses, see iTunes (disambiguation).

iTunes
 Screenshot of iTunes 12.7.1 on Windows 10

Developer(s) Apple Inc.

Initial release January 9, 2001; 19 years ago

Stable release 12.10.10.2

• macOS Mojave and earlier

Operating system
• Windows 7 and later

Type • CD ripper

• Digital asset management

• Media player
 • Optical disc authoring
• Tag editor

License Freeware

Website apple.com/itunes/

iTunes (/ˈaɪtuːnz/)[1] is a media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, mobile device management utility, and the client app for iTunes Store, developed by Apple Inc. It is used
to purchase, play, download, and organize digital multimedia, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems, and can be used to rip songs from CDs, as
well as play content with the use of dynamic, smart playlists. Options for sound optimizations exist, as well as ways to wirelessly share the iTunes library.
Originally announced by CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2001, iTunes' original and main focus was music, with a library offering organization, collection, and storage of users' music
collections. In 2005, however, Apple expanded on the core features with support for digital video, podcasts, e-books, and mobile apps purchased from the iOS App Store (the last of
which it discontinued in 2017). Until the release of iOS 5 in 2011, all iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads required iTunes for activation. Until the release of iOS 5 in 2011, iTunes was
required for updating mobile apps. Newer iOS devices have less reliance on iTunes in order to function, though it can still be used to back up the contents of mobile devices, as well as to
share files with personal computers.
Though well-received in its early years, iTunes soon received increasingly significant criticism for a bloated user experience, with Apple adopting an all-encompassing feature-set in
iTunes rather than sticking to its original music-based purpose. On June 3, 2019, Apple announced that iTunes in macOS Catalina would be replaced by separate apps,
namely Music, Podcasts, and TV. Finder would take over the device management capabilities.[2][3] This change would not affect Windows or older macOS versions.[4] By the mid-
2010s, streaming media services surpassed iTunes' buy-to-own model, starting to generate more revenue in the industry.[5][6]

History[edit]
See also: History of iTunes
SoundJam MP, released by Casady & Greene in 1998, was renamed "iTunes" when Apple purchased it in 2000.[7] The primary developers of the software moved to Apple as part of the
acquisition, and simplified SoundJam's user interface, added the ability to burn CDs, and removed its recording feature and skin support.[8] The first version of iTunes, promotionally
dubbed "World’s Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software,"[9] was announced on January 9, 2001.[10] Subsequent releases of iTunes often coincided with new hardware devices, and
gradually included support for new features, including "smart playlists," the iTunes Store, and new audio formats.[10]

Platform availability[edit]
Apple released iTunes for Windows in 2003.[11]
On April 26, 2018, iTunes was released on Microsoft Store for Windows 10,[12] primarily to allow it to be installed on Windows 10 devices configured to only allow installation of software
from Microsoft Store.[13] Unlike Windows versions for other platforms, it is more self-contained due to technical requirements for distribution on the store (not installing background helper
services such as Bonjour), and is updated automatically though the store rather than using Apple Software Update.[14]
Music library[edit]
iTunes features a music library. Each track has attributes, called metadata, that can be edited by the user, including changing the name of the artist, album, and genre, year of release,
artwork, among other additional settings.[15][16] The software supports importing digital audio tracks that can then be transferred to iOS devices,[17] as well as supporting ripping content from
CDs.[18][19] iTunes supports WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AAC, and MP3 audio formats.[20] It uses the Gracenote music database to provide track name listings for audio CDs. When users
rip content from a CD, iTunes attempts to match songs to the Gracenote service. For self-published CDs, or those from obscure record labels, iTunes will normally only list tracks as
numbered entries ("Track 1", "Track 2") on an unnamed album by an unknown artist, requiring manual input of data.[21]
File metadata is displayed in users' libraries in columns, including album, artist, genre, composer, and more.[22] Users can enable or disable different columns, as well as change view
settings.[23]

Special playlists[edit]
Introduced in 2004,[24] "Party Shuffle" selected tracks to play randomly from the library, though users could press a button to skip the current song and go to the next in the list.[25] The
feature was later renamed "iTunes DJ",[26] before being discontinued altogether, replaced by a simpler "Up Next" feature that notably lost some of "iTunes DJ"'s functionality.[27]
Introduced in iTunes 8 in 2008, "Genius" can automatically generate a playlist of songs from the user's library that "go great together".[28] "Genius" transmits information about the user's
library to Apple anonymously, and evolves over time to enhance its recommendation system. It can also suggest purchases to fill out "holes" in the library.[29] The feature was updated with
iTunes 9 in 2009 to offer "Genius Mixes," which generated playlists based on specific music genres.[30][31]
"Smart playlists" are a set of playlists that can be set to automatically filter the library based on a customized list of selection criteria, much like a database query. Multiple criteria can be
entered to manage the smart playlist.[32] Selection criteria examples include a genre like Christmas music, songs that haven't been played recently, or songs the user has listened to the
most in a time period.[33]

Library sharing[edit]
Through a "Home Sharing" feature, users can share their iTunes library wirelessly.[34] Computer firewalls must allow network traffic, and users must specifically enable sharing in the
iTunes preferences menu. iOS applications also exist that can transfer content without Internet.[35] Additionally, users can set up a network-attached storage system, and connect to that
storage system through an app.[36]

Artwork printing[edit]
To compensate for the "boring" design of standard CDs, iTunes can print custom-made jewel case inserts. After burning a CD from a playlist, one can select that playlist and bring up a
dialog box with several print options, including different "Themes" of album artworks.[37]

Sound processing[edit]
iTunes includes sound processing features, such as equalization, "sound enhancement" and crossfade. There is also a feature called Sound Check, which automatically adjusts the
playback volume of all songs in the library to the same level.[38][39]

Video[edit]
In May 2005, video support was introduced to iTunes with the release of iTunes 4.8,[40] though it was limited to bonus features part of album purchases.[41] The following October, Apple
introduced iTunes 6, enabling support for purchasing and viewing video content purchased from the iTunes Store. At launch, the store offered popular shows from the ABC network,
including Desperate Housewives and Lost, along with Disney Channel series That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. CEO Steve Jobs told the press that "We’re doing for
video what we’ve done for music — we’re making it easy and affordable to purchase and download, play on your computer, and take with you on your iPod."[42]
In 2008, Apple and select film studios introduced "iTunes Digital Copy," a feature on select DVDs and Blu-ray discs allowing a digital copy in iTunes and associated media players.[43][44][45]

Podcasts[edit]
Main article: Podcasts (software)

The icon used by Apple to represent a podcast

In June 2005, Apple updated iTunes with support for podcasts.[46][47] Users can subscribe to podcasts, change update frequency, define how many episodes to download and how many to
delete.[47]
Similar to songs, "Smart playlists" can be used to control podcasts in a playlist, setting criteria such as date and number of times listened to.[48]
Apple is credited for being the major catalyst behind the early growth of podcasting.[49]

Books[edit]
Main article: Apple Books
In January 2010, Apple announced the iPad tablet, and along with it, a new app for it called iBooks (now known as Apple Books). The app allowed users to purchase e-books from
the iTunes Store, manage them through iTunes, and transfer the content to their iPad.[50]

Apps[edit]
Main article: App Store (iOS)
On July 10, 2008, Apple introduced native mobile apps for its iOS operating system. On iOS, a dedicated App Store application served as the storefront for browsing, purchasing and
managing applications, whereas iTunes on computers had a dedicated section for apps rather than a separate app.[51] In September 2017, Apple updated iTunes to version 12.7,
removing the App Store section in the process.[52][53] However, the following month, iTunes 12.6.3 was also released, retaining the App Store, with 9to5Mac noting that the secondary
release was positioned by Apple as "necessary for some businesses performing internal app deployments".[54][55]

iTunes Store[edit]
Main article: iTunes Store
Introduced On April 28, 2003, The iTunes Music Store allows users to buy and download songs, with 200,000 tracks available at launch. In its first week, customers bought more than one
million songs.[56] Music purchased was protected by FairPlay, an encryption layer referred to as digital rights management (DRM).[57] The use of DRM, which limited devices capable of
playing purchased files,[58] sparked efforts to remove the protection mechanism.[59] Eventually, after an open letter to the music industry by CEO Steve Jobs in February 2007,[60] Apple
introduced a selection of DRM-free music in the iTunes Store in April 2007,[61] followed by its entire music catalog without DRM in January 2009.[62]
In October 2005, Apple announced that movies and television shows would become available through its iTunes Store, employing the DRM protection.[42]

iTunes U[edit]
In May 2007, Apple announced the launch of "iTunes U" via the iTunes Store, which delivers university lectures from top U.S. colleges.[63][64]
With iTunes version 12.7 in August 2017, iTunes U collections became a part of the Podcasts app.[65]
On 10 June 2020, Apple formally announced that iTunes U will be discontinued from the end of 2021.[66]

iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match[edit]

In June 2011, Apple announced "iTunes in the Cloud," in which music purchases were stored on Apple's servers and made available for automatic downloading on new devices. For
music the user owns, such as content ripped from CDs, the company introduced "iTunes Match," a feature that can upload content to Apple's servers, match it to its catalog, change the
quality to 256kbit/s AAC format, and make it available to other devices.[67][68]

Internet radio and music streaming[edit]

Main articles: iTunes Radio and Apple Music
When iTunes was first released, it came with support for the Kerbango Internet radio tuner service.[69] In June 2013, the company announced iTunes Radio, a free music streaming
service.[70] In June 2015, Apple announced Apple Music, its paid music streaming service, and subsequently rebranded iTunes Radio into Beats 1, a radio station accompanying Apple
Music.[71]

iPhone connectivity[edit]
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2020)

iTunes was used to activate early iPhone models. Beginning with the iPhone 3G in June 2008, activation did not require iTunes, making use of activation at point of sale.[72]

Ping[edit]
Main article: iTunes Ping
With the release of iTunes 10 in September 2010, Apple announced iTunes Ping, which CEO Steve Jobs described as "social music discovery." It had features reminiscent of Facebook,
including profiles and the ability to follow other users.[73] Ping was discontinued in September 2012.[74]

Criticism[edit]
Security[edit]
The Telegraph reported in November 2011 that Apple had been aware of a security vulnerability since 2008 that would let unauthorized third parties install "updates" to users' iTunes
software. Apple fixed the issue prior to the Telegraph's report, and told the media that "The security and privacy of our users is extremely important", though this was questioned by
security researcher Brian Krebs, who told the publication that "A prominent security researcher warned Apple about this dangerous vulnerability in mid-2008, yet the company waited
more than 1,200 days to fix the flaw."[75]

Software bloat[edit]
iTunes has been repeatedly accused of being bloated as part of Apple's efforts to turn it from a music player to an all-encompassing multimedia platform.[52][76][77][78][79] Former PC
World editor Ed Bott accused the company of hypocrisy in its advertising attacks on Windows for similar practices.[80]
In 2019, Craig Federighi acknowledged the issue and joked that iTunes was to include Email, Calendar, Safari, and a dock before announcing its retirement from macOS Catalina. The
role of iTunes is replaced with independent apps for Apple Music, Apple TV, as well as for iOS device management.

https://www.macworld.com/article/3019878/15-years-of-itunes-a-look-at-apples-media-app-and-its-influence-on-an-industry.html

NEWS ANALYSIS
15 years of iTunes: A look at Apple’s media app and its influence on an industry
In January 2001, Steve Jobs introduced iTunes and forever changed the way we buy and consume media. It’s the most important app that Apple
has ever created.

By Kirk McElhearn
Senior Contributor, Macworld | JAN 9, 2016 3:00 AM PST

On a chilly, rainy day in San Francisco 15 years ago, Steve Jobs took the stage at the 2001 Macworld Expo to present new Apple products. After talking about
boring technicalities of new hardware and software, Jobs switched registers. He introduced Apple’s digital hub concept, then started talking about a revolution.

“There is a music revolution happening right now.”

The icon of the current version of iTunes, version 12.

Jobs discussed the current state of digital music: how people ripped CDs, put music on computers, created playlists, and how people burned those playlists to CDs
to listen on the go or in the car. People even copied digital music to MP3 players. Jobs said that music player apps were “too complex. They are really difficult to
learn and use.”

Jobs then introduced iTunes, arguably the most important software Apple ever released, other than its operating systems. iTunes set the tune for the company’s
next decade and its rise from a “beleaguered” hardware and software company to the industry leader we know today. Admitting that Apple was playing catch-up,
Jobs said, “We’re late to this party and we’re about to do a leapfrog.”

And they sure did.

iTunes over the years

iTunes is 15 years old today and its history parallels that of Apple since its release in 2001. In less than a year later, Jobs introduced the iPod, the hardware device
that, married to iTunes, would turn Apple’s fortunes around.

As Apple introduced new iPod models, the company also added new features to iTunes. Version 2 was released to coincide with the iPod’s availability; version 3
added smart playlists and support for audiobooks from Audible.com. In April 2003, iTunes 4 introduced the iTunes Music Store, added support for the AAC codec,
and more. Oh, and hell froze over later that year: Apple released a Windows version of iTunes, “probably the best Windows app ever written,” said Jobs.

Launched with a mere 200,000 songs, the iTunes Music Store sold one million songs in its first week. By June of that year, a million iPods had been sold, and the
world was soon rocking to their personal soundtracks while wearing the signature white earbuds.

Here’s what the iTunes Music Store looked like in iTunes 4.

iTunes and the iPod made tech cool. Those earbuds were everywhere. Just as headphones marked the first portable music revolution when the Walkman surged
in popularity in the early 1980s, the ubiquitous white earbuds bore witness to just how many people wanted to listen to music on the go and did so with Apple
products.

In April 2004, an incremental update, iTunes 4.5, saw some new features: the now-defunct iMix, the once useful party shuffle, and more. Through the life of iTunes
4, other enhancements included AirTunes—the predecessor of today’s AirPlay—to stream music over a local network, support for photos, and support for video. In
June 2005, Apple added podcast support; together with a huge podcast directory in a section of the iTunes Music Store, it helped spearhead a revolution in that
nascent media.

iTunes 5 and 6, released from September 2005 through June 2006, didn’t add many new features to the app, focusing more on compatibility, bug fixes, and minor
enhancements. It did see the addition of video when the 5th generation iPod classic was released in October 2005, but it was iTunes 7, which lasted nearly two
years—September 2006 through September 2008—that saw major new features. There were iPod games (remember them?), gapless playback was added
(finally), Cover Flow (now retired), and support, in early 2007, for the new Apple TV.
Party Shuffle in iTunes 7.
iTunes’ progression mirrored that of digital media in general. At first it was about music and nothing more; the “tunes” in iTunes. But as digital technologies
improved, and hardware grew new capabilities, iTunes shepherded different types of digital content to portable devices. Photos, videos, and later apps, all made
the leap from the desktop to pocket-sized devices through iTunes. For years, Apple’s new product presentations focused on the iPod and digital music, with the
rest of the company’s hardware being secondary. The company lived and breathed iPod, as Apple’s market share crushed its competitors.

In February 2007, Jobs penned an essay entitled Thoughts on Music (curiously only available now on Apple’s Korean website), which would change the music
industry forever. In it, Jobs bemoaned the use of DRM (digital rights management) on music downloads and offered alternatives. In May of that year, the iTunes
Store introduced iTunes Plus, which was 256 kbps DRM free music, sold at a slight premium, allowing interoperability with other software and hardware. By then,
the iTunes juggernaut was unstoppable and Apple could influence the way the music industry sold its products. Digital music sales soon eschewed DRM entirely.
2007 was, of course, the year of the first iPhone. Still linked to iTunes, this device became the hardware equivalent of that media management app, turning Apple
into the biggest tech company of all time. By then, iTunes supported a full line of portable devices: the iPod classic, touch, nano, shuffle, and the iPhone. (And it
also synced to the Apple TV, then a hard-disk based device.) And it added the App Store, whose success is lauded regularly, and which has helped contribute to
the popularity of the iPhone.

iTunes 8 and 9 moved ahead, consolidating Apple’s overall digital strategy. You could rent movies and TV shows, then buy movies and TV shows, you could
download courses from iTunes U, and buy ebooks. iTunes added and refined more features: Genius Mixes and Home Sharing were added, and Party Shuffle
morphed into iTunes DJ (since removed, and replaced by the confusing Up Next).

Cover Flow view in iTunes 9.

Introducing complexity
During the initial iTunes introduction, Jobs said of the music apps that existed at the time: “They are too complex. They are really difficult to learn and use.” iTunes
was becoming a confusing amalgam of features that no longer seemed organic and felt like they were cobbled together haphazardly. Apple added such features—
later retired—as the Genius sidebar and the iTunes MiniStore, which didn’t make it easier to find and listen to music, but tried to funnel users into the iTunes Store
to get them to buy music.

The epitome of this marketing-led design was the fatal introduction, with iTunes 10, of Ping, a “social network for music,” which prompted me to write at the time,
“I’m sure Apple has a plan, but so far, users seem to be greeting Ping with a big shrug. I know I have.” Ping didn’t last long; in October, 2010, it was replaced by
the iTunes Sidebar, which, just as the Ping sidebar, was short-lived.

iTunes 10 and the short-lived Ping. This was also when Apple made the iTunes sidebar a drab, uniform gray.
In 2011, iTunes Match came into existence, yet never spread beyond the US, Canada, and Australia. And in the following year, iTunes 11 added iTunes in the
Cloud, for purchased content, and also made major changes in iTunes’ interface, confusing users. iTunes Radio was introduced, and the two-year life of this
version of iTunes saw a lot of fixes and minor enchantments, but nothing that made the program easier to use. When iTunes 12 saw the light in October 2014,
Apple again pulled the rug out from under users, changing navigation within the app and making it even harder to find one’s way through a labyrinth of features.

As we now know, the next step in digital music is streaming, and iTunes 12 embraced that in 2015 with Apple Music and the iCloud Music Library, which is the
bane of people with carefully curated music libraries. And there’s no escaping the iTunes Store; it’s permanently baked into every nook and cranny of the app.

iTunes initially came into existence because of “a music revolution” guided by Steve Jobs, who, as we know, loved music. Over the years, as digital content
matured, iTunes became the hub for all that content. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself; lots of people love to call iTunes “bloated,” but I disagree. The problem
now is that those who want to use iTunes for its original purpose, music, find themselves stuck in a morass of features designed to sell, sell, sell product from the
iTunes Store.

In my writings about iTunes—notably my Ask the iTunes Guy column—I field questions from users perplexed by the quirks of this app. I used to get questions
asking how to do something more efficiently, and I was able to help people organize and manage their music creatively. Now, most of the questions I get are about
trying to work around things that are broken, or how to find features that were once easily accessible. More and more users long for a simple music player that
sheds much of the cruft that has built up over the years.

Apple’s press release for iTunes 1.0 said:

“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.”

If only that were true now.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48511006

A brief history of Apple's iTunes

By Zoe Kleinman
Technology reporter, BBC News

Published
4 June 2019
IMAGE
COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
Apple has announced iTunes will be absorbed into its three new entertainment apps: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV.
It launched a number of new services at a star-studded event in March, signalling a change of direction for the 42-year-old hardware company.
ITunes will not be disappearing completely - downloads will still be available in the sidebar of Apple Music, the app will remain and the platform will be unchanged
on Windows.
"Rumours of iTunes' demise have been over-exaggerated," said analyst Ben Wood, from CCS Insight.
However, there's little doubt the once iconic music service has had its heyday.
"The world has moved on as ubiquitous connectivity, cloud storage, and streaming media became the norm," said Jon Porter, at tech news site The Verge.
Age of piracy
The music store launched in 2003 but iTunes started life in 2001, when the first generation iPod MP3 player - which stored 1,000 tunes - transformed the world of
digital music.
 IMAGE
COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
It wasn't the first on the market but industry experts considered it the most user-friendly and sales soared.
Digital music had until then existed in a culture in which pirate sites loomed large and illegal downloading was rife.
The file-sharing platform Napster, launched 20 years ago, had opened up an enormous, if illegal, network through which people could freely share music.
There was no longer any need to surreptitiously record off the radio on to a cassette - now, millions of tech-savvy music lovers had access to a vast library of
tracks, straight from each other's hard drives.
But Napster was quickly sued by both music bodies and artists, including Metallica and Dr Dre, who suffered considerable revenue loss.
 IMAGE
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image captionDr Dre expressed his dislike of Napster in no uncertain terms
By April 2004, when the iTunes store arrived in the UK, Apple was able to report about 85 million songs had been legally acquired.
So confident was the tech giant about the success of its new service that in 2005 it launched the iTunes phone - although it was nowhere near as successful as
the iPhone, which followed in 2007.
What went wrong?
As mobile and broadband capability improved, video, podcasts and e-books became more accessible and iTunes expanded to become much more than a music
store.
However, it was criticised for growing overly bloated as a result.
Dismantling the one-stop-shop into three distinct market stalls could give Apple more of a competitive advantage, said Mark Mulligan, music industry analyst at
Midia Research.
"Its role as a music app has already diminished... what Apple is doing is saying that to succeed in this world it has to specialise in everything - it can't be a
generalist," he said.
"It's still number two to Spotify - if it's going to be the leading player, which is what it wants to be, it's got to unbundle all of these things and make each one a
leader in its space."
The rise of streaming
The year 2017 was a bumper year for music streaming revenue, with global streaming generating $7.1bn (£5bn) for the music industry - more than CD and vinyl
sales.
In 2018, 90 billion songs were streamed in the UK alone, according to figures released by music body the BPI - a 33.5% increase from 2017.
 IMAGE
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image captionQueen, Miley Cyrus and Eminem were among 2018's most-streamed songs
The public move towards streaming chimes with a broader cultural shift away from ownership and towards subscriptions, rentals and access on-demand.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) valued the music industry at $17.3bn (£12.4bn) in 2017, marking its third year of growth after
years of decline dogged by struggles with piracy and declining physical sales.
But even a revamped offering from Apple, with its huge global fan base of loyal customers, is unlikely to boost it back to its glory days, according to Mark Mulligan.
"Realistically, music is never going to get back to that place again," he said.
"There are so many things competing for people's spend and attention.
"Now, streaming video and games matters just as much. Music isn't as essential anymore."

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-discontinues-itunes-after-18-years-history-rise-and-fall-2019-10

Apple is killing its most-hated app, iTunes. Here's how it went from a
popular music player to an outdated relic.
MaryMeisenzahl
Oct10,2019,11:24PM

Apple's iTunes grew more complicated, necessitating its splitting into three different apps. Associated Press/iTunes
• Apple eliminated the iTunes app on the new version of Mac software, macOS Catalina, which was released on Monday.
• Steve Jobs introduced iTunes in 2001 and launched the iTunes Music Store in 2003.
• iTunes changed the way people buy and consume media, but also spurred hatred and complaints over the years.
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• Apple's iTunes, the media library introduced to the world in 2001, is officially on its way out.
• At the June WWDC, Apple announced that it was getting rid of iTunes on Macs, which it had already done on the iPhone. As
macOS Catalina rolls out beginning this week, iTunes will be replaced by three separate apps: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts,
and Apple TV.
• Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced iTunes at the January 2001 Macworld Expo calling it "the world's best and easiest
to use jukebox software." In 2003, iTunes 4 introduced the iTunes Music Store, on its way to Jobs' vision of a digital
hub where all your media would be stored.
• iTunes changed the way people bought and listened to music, but it also became a source of frustration for users.
Publications featured stories about why people hate iTunes and why you should ditch iTunes, and many complained online.
• Here is the history of iTunes, from its groundbreaking inception to its hated later years, and the final goodbye.
• Apple released iTunes in 2001 as a "jukebox" software that allowed Mac users to import songs,
convert them to MP3s, and store them.

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• Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images
• Source: Apple
• "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," Steve Jobs said.

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• Photo by Apple Computer/Getty Images
• Source: Apple
• In October 2001, Apple released the original iPod, which automatically synced with iTunes. “With
iPod, listening to music will never be the same again,” Jobs said.
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• Photo Courtesy of Apple Corp. via Getty Images
• In the press release, Apple called the iPod "a breakthrough MP3 music player that packs up to 1,000 CD-quality songs into an
ultra-portable, 6.5 ounce design that fits in your pocket."
• The iTunes Music Store launched in 2004, with thousands of songs available for $.99. "Consumers
don't want to be treated like criminals and artists don't want their valuable work stolen. The iTunes
Music Store offers a groundbreaking solution for both," Jobs said.

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• Mary Meisenzahl/Business Insider
• The iTunes Music Store made iTunes a model for legally buying and downloading music, The Verge observed. "The iTunes
Music Store offers the revolutionary rights to burn an unlimited number of CDs for personal use and to put music on an
unlimited number of iPods for on-the-go listening," said Steve Jobs in the press release.
• Apple dominated the online music sharing space so completely that musicians like Thom Yorke of Radiohead accused Apple
of making "all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions."
• iTunes also became available on Windows in 2004, making it available to users of the world's
largest operating system for the first time. Jobs called it "probably the best Windows app ever
written."
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• Gabe Palacio/Getty Images
• Source: Macworld
• iTunes 5 and 6 were primarily bug fixes, but they added podcast and video support in 2005 and
2006, respectively.
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• Mary Meisenzahl
• In 2006, iTunes 7 introduced games, gapless playback, and more, as Apple also released the first
iPhone. By this point, the software supported iPod Classic, Shuffle, Touch, Nano, and iPhone.
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• Apple
Post-iTunes 7, the software kept getting more confusing, and criticisms became more common as it
evolved from a music player to a multimedia platform. It was even briefly home to Ping, "a social
network for music" that was replaced within a year.

Jeff Sayre

Ping was reportedly supposed to connect with Facebook, but users pointed out that it was difficult to use, with no alerts or
notifications when friends reacted to you.
In 2012, redesigned iTunes 11 left users confused about how to access and organize their content,
which could now include, music, podcasts, TV shows, and movies.

Apple

The company also introduced iTunes Radio and iTunes in the Cloud, letting users store their music library in the cloud.
Apple also launched iTunes Match, a streaming service, along with the Genius Sidebar, which users
found confusing. When he originally launched iTunes, Jobs said of other music apps "They are too
complex. They are really difficult to learn and use," but now that was becoming true of iTunes.