DigitalMusicNews.com reports that Apple will be
terminating their iTunes music service within 2 years' time. This follows a
Sept 2014 article professing bleak iTunes revenue forecasts for the next 5 years - a projected massive
39% plummet from previous revenue. Today an article in MacWorld
countered the rumor, though the fact remains that the service is no longer a money maker for the company.
Apple's newer streaming service,
Apple Music generates $65M in monthly revenue, though CNet analyst Lance Whitney points out that
this accounts for a mere 1% of Apple's revenue. Even still, Whitney calls attention to an important factor of Apple's business model -
Quote:
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Apple doesn't necessarily introduce individual new products or services with the goal of making lots of money. Instead, the company sees new products and services as a way of luring users into the Apple ecosystem. By offering a "compelling music experience," as Munster puts it, Apple hopes to sell more iPhones. Selling more iPhones means more users who will purchase items from iTunes and potentially buy other Apple products and services.
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I personally have never seen or used the iTunes market. Are there any users among our ranks sorry to see the service die? And does this news mark the beginning of the end of purchasable digital music as it is by and large replaced by streaming?
How do you feel about the news?
