On April 28, 2003, Apple launched the iTunes Retailer, its iconic digital market for downloading music. 22 years later, most of us do not buy songs and albums individually anymore, and the iTunes Retailer would not exist because it as soon as did, however performed a serious function in Apple historical past.
Early Years
When it launched, the iTunes Retailer was just for the Mac, but it surely expanded to Home windows PCs earlier than the top of 2003. It was a one-stop store for music that might be loaded onto an iPod, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs inked offers with numerous totally different file labels to get it up and operating.
In the primary 18 hours following the launch of the iTunes Retailer, Apple offered ~275,000 tracks, with songs priced at $0.99 on the time. Lower than every week after launch, Apple offered 1 million songs, and on the two week mark, Apple was at 2 million songs offered.
By 2008, 5 years after the iTunes Retailer launched, Apple’s iTunes Retailer was the most important music vendor in the USA. In 2010, it was the most important music vendor on the planet, bringing in over a billion {dollars}.
Pricing
The iTunes Retailer offered songs for $0.99 in the USA, although some had been costlier at $1.29. Albums had been priced at $9.99 by default, however distributors had been capable of set increased costs. Apple usually provided iTunes promotions, together with weekly free songs.
Past Music
Earlier than the App Retailer launched in 2008, the iTunes Retailer additionally housed apps, plus it was residence to digital books earlier than the launch of the iBooks Retailer. Apple additionally used the iTunes Retailer for distributing podcasts, TV reveals, and flicks.
The Rise of Streaming Music
Within the 2010s, curiosity in streaming music began to select up, slicing into music purchases. Streaming companies like Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, and Pandora launched earlier within the decade, however extra individuals turned thinking about streaming music when Spotify launched in the USA in 2011.
Beats Music launched in 2014, and was shortly bought by Apple when Apple acquired the Beats model. Apple ended up turning Beats Music into Apple Music, a Spotify competitor that launched on June 30, 2015. By 2016, simply 24 p.c of the music business’s income got here from digital music gross sales, with streaming companies bringing in over 50 p.c of whole income.
The iTunes Retailer At this time
You may nonetheless discover the iTunes Retailer app in your iPhone, but it surely’s a bit of more durable to search out on the Mac. It is obtainable as a devoted part within the Apple Music app for many who nonetheless buy music.
TV reveals and flicks had been break up out into the TV app, whereas podcasts had been break up into the Podcasts app as a part of modifications made in macOS Catalina again in 2019. The Home windows model of the iTunes Retailer caught round longer, however in 2024, Apple launched devoted Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Gadgets apps for Home windows customers to exchange iTunes.