Apple Plans To Bring The iTunes Store To Android
According to the latest rumors, Apple intends to launch its iTunes Store app on Android, in a move intended to combat on demand music services such as Spotify and Beats Music. The same rumors suggest that Apple is also interested in launching an on demand streaming service. This is a direct consequence of the low download sales in the United States iTunes Music Store.
Such a move will mean the iTunes Radio will take the path of Spotify, Beats Music and others. Currently, the iTunes Store can be accessed from OS X, Microsoft Windows and iOS devices (Phone, iPad, and iPod touch). Since in the world of desktop computers, almost anyone can use it as it is accessible from both Windows and OS X, in the world of mobile devices the iTunes Store can only be used by iOS users. Until now, because if the rumors is correct, Android users will also be able to use Apple’s famous iTunes Store.
Three years ago, Steve Jobs commented on the idea of putting the iTunes Store on Android, by saying: “We thought about whether we should do a music client for Android. We put iTunes on Windows in order to sell more iPods. But I don’t see an advantage of putting our own music app on Android, except to make Android users happy. And I don’t want to make Android users happy”. However, Tim Cook, the current Apple CEO, is of a different opinion: “Apple has no religious issue porting an iOS app to Android if it made sense”.
Now it seems to make a lot of sense as U.S. digital album sales have dropped with 13% in the first week of March while digital track sales dropped with 11% from 2013. Streaming services on the other hand have seen an increase in revenue. A report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) mentioned that streaming services like Pandora and Spotify generated a total of $1.4 billion in 2013, in subscription, advertising and licensing revenues. The same report mentions downloads revenue dropped from 2012 (by 3.2%), to $2.9 billion generated last year.
The report confirms that streaming services have started to get more market share than download sales (which is Apple’s strong point). Android is another factor that contributed to the decline of the iTunes Music Store, especially since the iTunes App stores has official Google apps for Google Play Music, Google Books, and Google Play Movies & TV. Speaking of Google Play Music, it also contributed to the decline of the iTunes Music Store and Google Play Music All Access (a music streaming platform that lets users combine the All Access catalog with their own library of up to 20,000 Songs) is fantastic.
However, the topic of Google Play Music versus the iTunes Music Store is a bit more complex. First of all, as we said, Google Play Music is available to iOS users but the iTunes Music Store is not available to Android users, at least at the moment. However, it seems that Apple is at least considering the option. It also depends on how much exclusive content Apple can garner; for example, Apple has the Beatles on the iTunes Music Store while Google doesn’t. Apple also had the Beyonce album before the rest. It is also very important to note that the iTunes Music Store is available in more countries than the Google Play Music service. On the other hand, exclusivity may not actually be such an important factor in the industry. Especially for the youth audience, exclusive content isn’t going to get them to switch services.
iTunes is very relevant to the music industry as it represents over 40 percent of the United States recorded music revenue so all eyes are on its next move. An unnamed source from a major label said: “They are feeling out some people at labels on thoughts about transitioning its customers from iTunes proper to a streaming service [...] So when you buy a song for $1.29, and you put it in your library, iTunes might send an e-mail pointing out that for a total of, say, $8 a month you can access that song plus all the music in the iTunes store. It’s all in the ‘what if’ stage“.
As you know last year in the Fall Apple released the iTunes Radio, its own streaming service. We reported last year in the summer, before launching the service, that Apple was looking to sign deals with major music labels, in order to ensure content for its (then unknown) music streaming service. However, the iTunes Radio is more like Pandora and less like Spotify; while it is free to use, it doesn’t offer many customization options in regard to the playlist. Speaking of the iTune Radio, there were rumors that Apple intends to make it a standalone app as opposed to being part of the standard Music app.
Such a move will help in making the iTunes Radio more visible, which Apple hopes will attract more users. It is not a secret that iTunes Radio didn’t live up to Apple’s expectations. It also didn’t live up to the expectations of the major labels from the United States. However, bringing it to Android users may give it the much needed visibility. It is also interesting to find out more about Apple’s rumored on demand streaming service. As soon as we know more we will tell you more info. Until then, you can leave a comment in the dedicated section below.
