Apple is planning to close its iTunes music download store in under 12 months, according to latest reports.
Music industry site Digital Music News is reporting a source inside Apple pointing to a 31 March 2019 phase-out of iTunes paid-for downloads.
DJs who are reliant on iTunes for managing their music need not panic just yet though: the sources stressed that iTunes will still be able to play local music files, whether downloaded from Apple or other sources, and that video downloads would also continue to play – so this is very much simply a closing of Apple’s download store.
Additionally, it appears that this date is when the changes will be announced, with the actual closure happening some time later.
With the meteoric rise of the Apple Music streaming service, it’s a move that makes sense, as having both a streaming catalogue and a download store inside iTunes is currently something many users find confusing.
However, we wouldn’t be surprised to eventually see iTunes splintered into its separate roles on Mac and PC, in the same way as iOS has separate apps for videos and music, for instance.
Should DJs use iTunes?
Our view at Digital DJ Tips is that iTunes’ days are numbered, and with Apple finally admitting that the download store will close, we see no reason to change that view.
While DJs who are happy with iTunes (which is still around half of all DJs according to our research) can carry on doing so confidently at least for now, we advise all new DJs to think hard before using iTunes to manage their music, and to consider using whatever music library functions are available in their DJ software of choice as a more future-proof alternative.
Do you think this is going to happen as the strong rumours are suggesting? Will it affect your workflow? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Phil Morse
