Recently, Apple announced plans to shut down iTunes, 18 years after its launch. What does that mean for you? Will the entire music collection that you worked so hard to curate for over a decade disappear? Is this the end of the world as we know it?
Although iTunes will soon be gone with the launch of MacOS Catalina in the fall, Apple has three apps that will replace it: Apple Music, Apple Podcast, and Apple TV.
What happens to my iTunes library?
Absolutely nothing! Users will still be able to access their entire iTunes library, even songs ripped from CDs. Instead of your music disappearing, think of it more as your music collection reorganized.
Although you have to pay a monthly subscription fee to get full benefits of Apple Music, users will still be able to access their entire existing collection of songs for free. Plus, the app will still have a built-in iTunes store available for users who prefer to buy and own their music.
Does this news have you wondering about your music streaming options? Here’s the rundown on a few of the most popular.
Apple Music
Stream 50 million songs ad-free across all your devices – even if they’re not Apple – with this service. Apple Music integrates with Siri (try saying, “Hey Siri, play something chill”) and gives you the ability to download songs for offline listening.
Cost: 3-month free trial for new subscribers, then $4.99/mo. for college students, $9.99/mo. for individuals, and $14.99/mo. for families.
Pro-tip: Verizon Wireless Above and Beyond Unlimited customers get Apple Music included for free, for life! Switch to Unlimited at a TCC Verizon store near you here.
Check out Apple Music here.
Spotify
Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming platforms in the world. Unlike Apple Music where you have to pay to use it, Spotify does have a free version available with limited features. However, upgrading to Premium gives you full access to the service, including ad-free listening, offline downloads, and unlimited skips. Plus, Spotify learns your music tastes and creates multiple new daily playlists and a weekly discovery playlist, curated just for you.
Cost: 30-day free Premium trial for new subscribers, then $4.99/mo. for students with Hulu and Showtime included $9.99/mo. for individuals, and $14.99/mo. for families.
Get Spotify here.
YouTube Music
Developed by YouTube, YouTube Music was announced as a replacement to Google Play Music. Although Google Play Music is still operating right now, the company has plans to eventually merge the two together. A YouTube Premium account allows you to listen and watch ad-free. Plus, you can finally listen to music offline and with your screen locked, something you can’t do on YouTube without this service. You can search through official tracks, music videos, remixes, playlists, covers, and live performances to discover music you can’t find anywhere else. Similar to Spotify, YouTube Music does have a free version of their platform available with limited features.
Cost: 1-month free trial, then $4.99/mo. for students, $9.99/mo. for individuals, and $14.99/mo. for families.
Learn more about YouTube Music here.
Since the pricing on all of the major music streaming platforms are the exact same, it’s all a matter of personal preference. Try a few free trials (but don’t forget to cancel!) and see what platform fits your needs, because it’s not the end with iTunes gone! What’s your favorite music streaming service? Tell us in the comments!
The final step is to import ( rip ) the songs you burned onto the audio CD back to digital music files in your music library. This process is mostly automatic, as we already configured iTunes to encode any audio CD inserted into the CD drive as an MP3 file.