Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has set a hard date for snuffing out iTunes as even music downloads are now obsolete, with streaming services dooming iTunes to the recycle bin, reports said Thursday.
The news follows a leaked e-mail written last month that revealed Apple will stop taking new iTunes LP submissions ahead of more widespread changes, according to the Metro.co.uk, which saw the email sent to people working in the music industry.
“Apple will no longer accept new submissions of iTunes LPs after March 31, 2018,” announced “The End of iTunes LPs” email sent to music industry executives.
A phase-out of the iTunes music download service may help Apple keep up with subscription-based streaming platforms such as Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT).
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The tech giant is thinking of world domination as its popular three-year-old streaming service Apple Music officially surpasses 40 million paid subscribers in 115 countries.
The company recently announced the promotion of Oliver Schusser to lead Apple Music Worldwide, reported Variety.
With some 8 million auditioning the service via free trials, Apple Music is gaining ground on its competitors — namely Spotify, which went public on April 3 — at a monthly growth rate of 5% (versus Spotify’s 2%), per a recent report in the Wall Street Journal.
Sweden-based Spotify is aiming to exceed 200 million users by the end of 2018, and also hopes to have 96 million of them paying the monthly subscription fee, up from the current 71 million.