Tech giant Apple have announced plans to phase out popular music platform iTunes by the start of 2019.
The programme, which essentially opened the doors to an expansive world of music streaming, hasn’t been at the forefront of music technology in recent year, with declining download figures largely attributing to the phase-out.
Speaking to Digital Music News, Apple representatives claimed that the decision to phase out iTunes had been accelerated following a dismal 2017, with the 2018 holiday season looking to be the start of its curtain call.
The news comes in a period where Apple’s other music platform, the streaming-centric Apple Music, gains more and more recognition by the day. The platform will thus serve as a temporary replacement to iTunes, which has long seen its last day.
Apple have denied claims of a phase-out, however it sounds more like a thinly veiled excuse to delay the announcement of iTunes’ demise. It’s long been known that Apple Music is seen as the flagship programme, which means that, regardless of Apple’s denial, iTunes may soon be a thing of the past.
