Apple Considers 'Dramatic Overhaul' of iTunes as Music Downloads Decline?
LIKE
TWEET
SHARE
PIN
SHARE
POST
MAIL
MORE
Posted April 11, 2014 at 12:03pm by iClarified
Apple is considering a dramatic overhaul of the iTunes music store due to a sharp decline in music downloads and the failure of iTunes Radio to stem the tide, reports Billboard.
iTunes Radio is only seeing about 1-2% of users clicking the buy button; whereas, music downloads have declined over 15%, say label executives. Services such as YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, and others have been gaining momentum. One executive told Billboard that iTunes' share of revenue has eroded from 70% in 2012 to about 50% today.
As a result, Apple is being forced to consider options that would have been out of the question a few years earlier – an on-demand streaming service, an iTunes store for Google’s Android devices and negotiating download sales windows that favor Apple as first reported by Billboard.
How Apple should change iTunes is hotly debated. While the company wants a smooth transition, it's also important that it moves quickly, since users are increasingly moving towards streaming.
The interface overhaul iTunes got a while back - to me - seems like part of the issue. I have older family members who really hate the new interface. Where before the left menu/navigation was very easy for them.
I'm pretty sure it's already too late. They started raising song prices plus why would anyone pay when you can stream for free or really cheap? Companies just want to make as much profit for as long as they can, once people stop using a service they automatically think it just needs an overhaul.