When iTunes "Goes Away"...

A few years ago there was a huge media story on how Apple's seminal iTunes was going
to disappear, so those of us with massive mp3 libraries, be damned!

As it turned out, nothing really changed and it was more of an Apple branding thing.

However, any sharp collector and music historian will see the writing on the wall and
realize - just as 45s, record players and cassingles were phased out - it is only a matter of
time before we will no longer have a la carte track purchases.

Obviously the music industry has moved onto streaming as the primary method of
consuming music. And streaming is great - fast, affordable and convenient.

However, as collectors who may have built up huge libraries of iTunes files, are any of you
worried that one day your libraries will be unplayable / obsolete? Or that streaming does
not offer you the same 'feeling of completion / ownership' that owning a library provides?

I personally love the ability to add artwork, tinker with song metadata (add peak positions,
etc), - all things that don't seem possible with streaming playlists and platforms.

And how long do you give the current software before it is no longer available in a future
update?

jebsib wrote: are any of you worried that one day your libraries will be unplayable / obsolete? Or that streaming does not offer you the same 'feeling of completion / ownership' that owning a library provides? I personally love the ability to add artwork, tinker with song metadata (add peak positions, etc), - all things that don't seem possible with streaming playlists and platforms. And how long do you give the current software before it is no longer available in a future update?

I use mp3tag, no need for Itunes. Mp3tag does everything for ALAC, FLAC and mp3's that I need. If you don't want to do the work, streaming is your option.

As long as Apple has a charging cord software will be available. Once they go all cloud that might be it.

Edited by PopArchivist

Interesting topic. I began using iTunes about 15 years ago (12 on a Mac), and
I've built 100s (over 1,000 for sure) playlists. THAT is what I would fear losing,
as that is how I listen to my library. I will never use streaming.

Edited by davidclark

I have all may files saved on an external hard drive in AAC
format...if they decide that AAC format is no longer valid,
then I may be affected, otherwise, not...

edtop40 wrote: I have all may files saved on an external hard drive in AAC format...if they decide that AAC format is no longer valid, then I may be affected, otherwise, not...

I believe since 2009, iTunes AAC files have been DRM-
free, meaning they should be playable on any device that
can decode AAC. Since AAC is considered a standard
format, I'm personally not worried about being unable to
play them during my lifetime (I currently use Media
Monkey as my library and have no issues).


Edited by 995wlol