Is Apple Music Dying Or Discontinued? (We Checked)

Apple Music is one of the most popular music streaming services worldwide. Millions of subscribers are able to make their own playlists or listen to specially curated Apple Music playlists.

However, when iTunes integrated with Apple Music in 2015, it caused some confusion.  Many people still get confused about this because iTunes was discontinued and sort of merged into Apple Music – and so some people think Apple Music might also be discontinued.

If you’re one of these confused subscribers, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we explain everything you need to know about Apple Music and iTunes.

Here’s What You Need to Know about Apple Music and iTunes:

Apple Music is not being discontinued. It is the second most popular music streaming site globally, with 88 million subscribers in 2022. iTunes was discontinued as an exclusive music app in 2015 as part of the macOS Catalina upgrade. A variety of media content can now be purchased on iTunes.

Is Apple Music Losing Steam or Growing?

While there may still be some confusion surrounding the paid music streaming platform, statistics show Apple Music is far from slowing down.

The Apple Music streaming service proudly makes up over 15% of music platform subscriptions worldwide.

The percentage of users equates to over 88 million paid subscribers. 

With all the streaming services ranked against each other, Apple Music comes in as the second most used platform. Although, Spotify still takes the lead with twice as many subscribers.

Is Apple Music the Same as iTunes?

All music used to be purchased through iTunes. Apple Inc. developed the software, iTunes, in 2001 as a media player for Mac devices. This enabled users to purchase, download, and play music.

However, the software was phased out in 2015 as Apple Music became the replacement. Some subscribers were left in a panic as it seemed as though iTunes had died.

There was no need to worry as iTunes now includes the store where you can buy music, movies, TV shows, apps, etc.

Even though all media content is now amalgamated, it is still easy to find your iTunes media collections and purchases. Every playlist and song collection you used to have on iTunes is still there and can be transferred to Apple Music if you have a subscription.

You can find music either through iTunes or the Apple Music App. But, in order to stream music, you need an Apple Music subscription. However, no membership is required to buy content from iTunes.

You can find music to purchase and download by opening up the iTunes Store App or from the Apple Music app.

What has Apple announced about the future of Apple Music?

Apple appears to be making great plans in securing its future as one of the top ranking music streaming services. The latest announcement regarding Apple Music turns out to be focused on accommodating people who love the genre of classical music.

Apple took over the music service, Primephonic, back in 2020. Little did people realize this was done in order to provide a service created solely for classical music.

This will be known as Apple Music Classical. It will be made available alongside the Apple Music app.

Although there have been mixed feelings about the news, many subscribers are waiting with baited breath for the app release.

During the course of 2022, Apple Music also introduced the Replay Experience and Personalized Spatial Audio.

• The Replay Mix is a playlist that is curated based on your most repeated songs, artists and albums.
• Personalised spatial audio is only avialble if users own Airpods or Beats earphones and the TrueDepth camera.

How is Apple Music doing compared to Spotify?

Spotify is the biggest name in the digital music world right now but Apple Music isn’t far behind the leader.

• Apple Music currently has 88 million members (Only paid subscriptions available)
• Spotify currently 433 million users (Free subscription tier available and paid upgrades)

There are a few things that arguably make Apple Music a better music streaming service, even if only the second most popular streaming service. It has well over 100 million songs in its music library and plenty of exclusive artists.

Spotify has around 80 million songs and you will hear frequent ads if you’re using the free version. 

Another big bonus for Apple users is the free audio quality upgrades, regardless of your subscription plan. In contrast, Spotify only offers such when upgrading to a Premium plan.

What are the biggest music streaming services right now?

Many music streaming services are competing for the top ranking.

Here is a brief list of the most popular music streaming services in no particular order:

1. Spotify
2. Apple Music
3. Tidal
4. LiveXLive
5. Deezer
6. Amazon Music HD
7. YouTube Music

These services have been ranked as the best based on audio quality playback, sound, music libraries, and the costs involved to subscribe with family or single user plans.

It may seem silly to some but the small features make the user’s experience that much more memorable.

Final Thoughts

It is reassuring to know that music lovers have multiple options to consider when scouting out the best digital music streaming services. 

Globally, everyone has different reasons for their preferred choices – some subscribers prefer the full package regardless of the costs involved, while others prefer the opposite.

Apple Music seems to be gaining momentum even without a free version. It’s unlikely their second-ranking position in popularity will drop any time soon.

Sources

Apple Music Is The Second Most Used Music Streaming Service
What Happened To iTunes?
Apple Music vs. Spotify