Every song you've ever bought, ripped, uploaded or imported will already be part of Apple Music when you upgrade from your current Mac OS version to Catalina. Yes, Apple advertises a catalog of over 50 million songs, plus collections of music videos (through Apple TV) and podcasts (through the Apple Podcasts app). Here's what we know about Apple's plans to transition you to Apple Music and the rest.ĭo I still get access to the same number of songs with Apple Music? What do you have to do, if anything, to keep your investment intact? What if you use iTunes for Windows? What happens to iTunes Match? And why is Apple axing iTunes to begin with? Nevertheless, closing down iTunes raises big questions for those who have built up musical collections over the years. Now, Apple is betting that Apple Music help juice Apple's further push into software and services. People who had bought music from Apple were less likely to stray. For a company initially focused on hardware, iTunes was one of Apple's first major successes in this area. However, Apple is confident in your ability to teach yourself new tricks, as it channels you to Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple TV and the Finder instead.Īpple's shifting strategy may be jarring for longtime users, but music fits squarely into the tech giant's portfolio of premium experiences that keep loyal users invested in the brand's ecosystem. It'll be a shock for loyal iTunes users who, for 18 years, learned to rely on the app for everything from syncing their iPhones to building playlists and buying songs. But it is carving up iTunes' duties into four parts, giving Apple Music the bulk of the work. ITunes is as good as dead, leaving many to wonder: When iTunes goes, what happens to all your music? Don't worry - Apple isn't taking away your tunes.

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