Start Backing Up Your Music, Apple Might Kill iTunes Music Downloads

In terrifying news for those of us who live and breathe by meticulously organising our iTunes libraries, Apple is reportedly preparing to completely abandon its offering of iTunes music downloads in a fast-tracked two-year plan.

As Digital Music News reports, sources with active business relationships with Apple have said that the issue is "not an if, but when" iTunes downloads should be terminated completely. There is no word as to what would happen to your existing music files homed on iTunes if this occurs.

One executive reportedly told Digital Music News that "keeping [iTunes music downloads] running forever isn’t really on the table anymore", with iTunes download revenues dropping from US$3.9 billion in 2012 to an estimated US$600 million in 2019. Music business analyst Mark Mulligan said, "Last year downloads declined by 16% in nominal terms … This year they are tracking to decline by between 25% and 30%."

Following the report, Apple rep Tom Neumayr told Recode.net, "Not true," but refused to expand further.

With the elimination of iTunes downloads, the idea would be to focus on growing Apple Music, with the subscription service poised to boast nearly 20 million users by the end of 2016.

The streaming service's interaction with the iTunes library has already caused some strife, with many noting that by merging an existing library with Apple Music, Apple reportedly "deletes files from its users’ computers" when it cannot find a match between Apple's database and a customer's own iTunes database, which can include files that have been loaded on from CDs, recorded by oneself, downloaded from websites, etc. 

If your entire music library is to rely on Apple Music, it also means that Apple dictates where and when you can listen to your music — for example, if Apple Music is not working on your device, your wifi connection is not strong enough/non-existent or you cancel your subscription, your music would be inaccessible.