iTunes Store

Following the introduction of the iTunes Store, individual songs were all sold for the same price, though Apple introduced multiple prices in 2007. Music in the store is in the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format, which is the MPEG-4-specified successor to MP3. Originally, songs were only available with DRM and were encoded at 128 kbit/s. At the January 2009 Macworld Expo, Apple announced that all iTunes music would be made available without DRM, and encoded at the higher-quality rate of 256 kbit/s. Previously, this model, known as "iTunes Plus", had been available only for music from EMI and some independent labels. Users can sample songs by listening to previews, ninety seconds in length, or thirty seconds for short tracks.

In addition, the iTunes Store offers apps, which are applications used for various purposes (games, productivity, news, etc.) that are compatible with the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad, although some apps are specifically for the iPhone or iPad only. Some apps cost money (called "Paid Apps") and some are free (called "Free Apps"). Developers can decide which prices they want to charge for apps, from a pre-set list of pricing tiers, from free to several hundred dollars. When someone downloads an App, 70 percent of the purchase goes to the developer(s), and 30 percent goes to Apple.[25]

At the Macworld 2008 keynote, Steve Jobs, who was Apple's CEO at the time, announced iTunes movie rentals.[26] Movies are available for rent in the iTunes Store on the same day they are released on DVD,[27] though the iTunes Store also offers for rental some movies that are still in theaters. Movie rentals are only viewable for 24 hours (in the US) or 48 hours (in other countries) after users begin viewing them. The iTunes Store also offers one low-priced movie rental a week: in the United States, this rental costs 99 cents. Movie rentals are still not available in all countries but they are available in many countries including the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand. [28] There is a weekly promotion in which one to three songs are available to download for free to logged-in users. Free downloads are available on Tuesdays, and remain free until the following Tuesday, when the store gets refreshed with new content.[29] Some artists choose to have select songs available for no charge. This is not available at all iTunes Stores. Some iTunes television programs have begun the same technique to encourage brand loyalty, although those stay longer. In fact, the iTunes Store has a "Free TV Episodes" page where free episodes are organized by length, either as "featurettes" (shorter than 15 minutes) or full-length episodes (longer than 15 minutes). Free content can vary from a preview of a show to bonus content to pilot episodes and entire seasons of TV shows (examples of free seasons include HBO's The Weight of the Nation and ABC's Pan-Am). Some networks, such as ABC and NBC, have their own pages of "Free Season Premieres".

While previously the US iTunes Store has offered as many as three free songs each week (the single of the week, Discovery Download, and Canción de la Semana) in recent years, the store has instead replaced the three aforementioned categories with a unified "Single of the Week" banner, with the week's single being from a new up-and-coming artist.[30] In 2015, Apple discontinued the "Single of the Week" program.[31]

• A song usually costs 99¢; however, for songs with high popularity, the price is usually raised to $1.29. By default, songs that are more than 10 minutes are considered "Album Only"; distributors also have the power to make a song "Album Only." For special offers, song prices can be dropped to 69¢ or free.
• By default, music albums cost $9.99 or the price of all the songs combined if it is less than $9.99. However, the music album's distributor can set a higher price for the album (as long as it is some amount of dollars and 99 cents), which usually happens on popular music albums. For special offers, prices of music albums can be dropped to $4.99, $5.99, $6.99, or $7.99.
• On June 30, 2015, Apple launched Apple Music as a subscription service, initially available in 110 countries.[32] New subscribers are offered a three-month free trial with ongoing subscriptions priced from $9.99/month in the US[33] and £9.99 in the UK[34] or €9,99 for countries in the Eurozone.[35]

• By default, HD television episodes cost $2.99, while standard definition television episodes cost $1.99. However, distributors can make a television episode "Season Only."
• A television season costs either an amount of dollars (determined by number of episodes and definition) and 99 cents with the number in the one's place being a 4, 7, or 9, or the price of all episodes combined.

• Unpopular movies cost $7.99 to buy in standard definition and $13.00 or 14.99 to buy in HD. Popular movies or new releases cost $13.00 or 14.99 to buy in standard definition and $17.99 or 19.99 to buy in HD.
• Unpopular movies cost $2.99 to rent in standard definition and $3.99 to rent in HD. Popular movies cost $3.99 to rent in standard definition and $4.99 to rent in HD. For recent releases, this price is increased by $1.
• Movies that are available in 4K and HDR (either HDR10 or Dolby Vision with an HDR10 profile) cost the same price as HD, and are automatically upgraded from HD to 4K and HDR at no additional cost. Movies can be played back in 4K and HDR on an Apple TV 4K or a Mac released in 2018 or later running macOS Catalina when hooked up to a compatible display, and can be played back in HDR on an iPhone 8/X or later, a 10.5" or 11" iPad Pro, and a 2nd gen or later 12.9" iPad Pro running iOS 11 or later, or a MacBook released in 2018 or later running macOS Catalina or later.
• Movies that are available with a Dolby Atmos audio track requires an Apple TV 4K running tvOS 12 or later hooked up to a Dolby Atmos soundbar or receiver, a MacBook released in 2018 or later running macOS Catalina, an iPhone XS/XR running iOS 13 or later, or an 11"/3-gen 12.9" iPad Pro running iPadOS or later.

App prices are set by the developer; they can be free of charge or charged at 99 cents plus any number of dollars.

The iTunes Store allows users to purchase and download items directly to portable Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and iPod Touch.[36] Apple offers three apps, each of which provides access to certain types of content.

• The App Store app sells apps for iOS, and also provides updates to these apps.
• The iTunes Store app sells music and videos.
• The iBooks app sells ebooks.

Other, free content available from the iTunes Store can be accessed from two other iOS apps:

• The Podcasts apps lets users download, subscribe to and sync podcasts.
• The iTunes U app gives access to iTunes U educational material.

Originally, mobile users had to be connected to a Wi-Fi network in order to enter the store, hence its original name: iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. However, at Macworld 2009, Apple issued a software update which automatically allowed 3G and EDGE users to access the store's full functionality for files smaller than 10 megabytes (MB).[37] The iOS 3.0 update added the ability to download movies, TV shows, audiobooks, iTunes U, and ringtones on mobile devices, in addition to the previously available songs and podcasts. On February 18, 2010, Apple increased the 10 MB 3G download limit to 20 MB. In March 2012, Apple increased the 3G download limit to 50 MB,[38] and, in late 2013, Apple increased the limit to 100 MB when they released the final version of iOS 7 for their new iPhones.[39]

In the United States, Apple provides technical support for the iTunes Store via email; there is no phone number for issues with iTunes purchases.[40] Most customer service inquiries are handled online, via the Report a Problem link in iTunes.[41]

In response to major natural disasters, Apple provides the facility for donations to be made through the iTunes Store. Unlike other iTunes purchases, donations made to charitable organizations through this system are not subject to the 30% handling fee Apple usually charges.[42] iTunes donation pages were set up following the 2010 Haiti earthquake,[43] the 2011 Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami,[44] and 2012's Hurricane Sandy.[42] In all of these cases, donations were redirected to the Red Cross.

The store began operations after Apple signed deals with five major record companies: EMI, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Bertelsmann Music Group. Songs from more than 2,000 independent labels were added later, the first being from The Orchard on June 24, 2003.

As of April 2020, iTunes offers 60 million songs,[45][46] including exclusive tracks from numerous artists. Not all artists are available on iTunes, but many holdouts, such as Led Zeppelin and Radiohead, have allowed their music to be sold on the iTunes Store in recent years. New songs are added to iTunes catalog on a daily basis, and the iTunes Store is updated each Tuesday.

Downloaded songs come with song information (name, artist, album) already filled out, though iTunes provides a free service by Gracenote to do this for songs not purchased from the store, although they must be imported with iTunes. Songs that have an entry in the iTunes Store also come with album artwork (Artwork is embedded in the metadata). Artwork can be obtained for songs not purchased from the store for free if the user has an iTunes Store account. Purchased songs do not come with lyrics, nor does iTunes provide a service for acquiring the missing lyrics. However, several third-party applications exist to locate and automatically add lyrics to the user's music.

Some albums purchased on iTunes came with booklets. The first instance of this was the release of the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by rock band U2.[47]

Some songs are available from the store by "Album Only", meaning the song can only be acquired through the purchase of the entire album, whereas most songs can be downloaded separately from the album they belong to.

Songs above 10 minutes in length are by default Album Only songs.[48] However, this is not universally true; for example, Living in the Heart of the Beast by Henry Cow is 16 minutes and 18 seconds, yet is available for individual purchase as of 24 December 2013. Soundtracks also often have many Album Only tracks.

Sometimes, the 10-minute restriction works in an artist's favor. Examples of this include Prince's Lovesexy and the deluxe version of Phoenix's Bankrupt!, which both have an album as a single track instead of being separate, (in Prince's case, the track was the album, while in Phoenix's case, it was a collection of demos and outtakes) forcing the buyer to buy the album itself.

Movie soundtracks normally include songs owned by many different labels, making licensing more complex. For example, Forrest Gump: The Soundtrack includes songs from Peacock Records, Argo Records, and Capitol Records, among many others. Greatest Hits by Red Hot Chili Peppers has only one song, "Higher Ground", that is not available for download on a per song basis, whilst Circus (Britney Spears' 2008 album) has two songs that are available for album download only, Rock Me In and Phonography.

Some albums on the iTunes store are available only as a "Partial Album" meaning that one or more of the songs on an album's CD release are not available on its iTunes equivalent, often due to differing copyright holders between songs.[49]

Some tracks are listed as "Work Only", which means they can only be obtained by purchasing the entire piece of work (within the album); the tracks cannot be bought as singles. Works are generally pieces of classical music: symphonies, string quartets, etc., in multiple movements.

In September 2009, Apple introduced the iTunes LP format (known pre-launch by the code name "Cocktail")[50] which features visual, interactive content alongside album tracks and lyrics.

When entering the US music store, there are multiple sections one can visit. Music is divided into genres (Alternative, Classical, Jazz, Soundtrack, etc.), and there are a number of links to other sections of the store under the Quick Links header. These include Recommended for You, Complete My Album, iTunes LP, as well as thematic sections, such as iTunes Festival sections.

On November 1, 2006, Apple created a category for Latino and Hispanic content, "iTunes Latino". Telemundo and Mun2 made some of their popular programs available for purchase, becoming the first Hispanic television content in the store. It offers music, music videos, audiobooks, podcasts and television shows in Spanish in a single concentrated area. The brief descriptions given to the content are in Spanish as well as several subcategories.[51] Gibraltarian Flamenco Metal band Breed 77, released an exclusive album called Un Encuentro to coincide with the launch of "iTunes Latino". It features 11 songs, all from previous albums, but all sung in Spanish.

In 2012, Apple created Mastered for iTunes. When iTunes launched, the decision was made to standardize on AAC instead of the more popular MP3 format on the supposition that it offers better quality compared to other codecs at similar bit rates.[52] Mastered for iTunes (MFiT) is a procedure developed by Apple specifically for Mastering Engineers to follow. This set of tools allows Mastering Engineers to audition Apple's proprietary encoding during the mastering process to take into account how music will eventually interact with Apple's encoding. In addition to auditioning the encoder, there is also a tool (called afclip) that processes the audio file and creates a text file for audio clips. Because of this special encoding process, extra attention must be paid to headroom and inter-sample peaking while mastering.[53] In August 2019 it was announced that the Mastered for iTunes program would be rebranded as Apple Digital Masters. With the rebranding the high resolution masters are now available with Apple Music through streaming.[54] It is speculated that the rebranding came because the functionality of iTunes would be changing in macOS Catalina and therefore the Mastered for iTunes name no longer made sense.

• 100 million songs sold: July 11, 2004

(Kevin Britten of Hays, Kansas, bought the 100 millionth song, and the twenty-year-old received a call from Steve Jobs congratulating him.)[65]

• 125 million songs sold: September 1, 2004[66]
• 150 million songs sold: October 14, 2004[67]
• 200 million songs sold: December 16, 2004

(Ryan Alekman of Belchertown, Massachusetts, bought the 200 millionth song, which was one of the tracks on U2's digital box set The Complete U2.)[68]

• 250 million songs sold: January 24, 2005[69]
• 300 million songs sold: March 2, 2005[70]
• 400 million songs sold: May 10, 2005[71]

On July 5, 2005, Apple announced a promotion counting down to half a billion songs sold.[72]

• 500 million songs sold: July 18, 2005

(Amy Greer of Lafayette, Indiana, bought the 500 millionth song, "Mississippi Girl" by Faith Hill.)[73]

• 850 million songs sold: January 10, 2006[74]
• 1 billion songs sold: February 23, 2006

(Alex Ostrovsky of West Bloomfield, Michigan, bought the billionth song, "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay.[75] He later got a call from Steve Jobs with the news that the sixteen-year-old was getting ten iPods, an iMac, a $10,000 music gift certificate, and a scholarship established in his name at the Juilliard School.)[65]

• 1.5 billion songs sold: September 12, 2006
• 2 billion songs sold: January 9, 2007[76]
• 2.5 billion songs sold: April 9, 2007[77]
• 3 billion songs sold: July 31, 2007[78]
• 4 billion songs sold: January 15, 2008
• 5 billion songs sold: June 19, 2008[79]
• 6 billion songs sold: January 6, 2009[80]
• 8 billion songs sold: July 21, 2009
• 8.6 billion songs sold: September 9, 2009
• 10 billion songs sold: February 24, 2010[81]

(Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia, downloaded "Guess Things Happen That Way" by Johnny Cash. At 71 years old, he was the oldest milestone winner to that date. He received a call from Steve Jobs and a $10,000 iTunes gift card.)[82]

• 15 billion songs sold: June 6, 2011[83]
• 20 billion songs sold: September 12, 2012[84]
• 25 billion songs sold: February 6, 2013[85]
• 35 billion songs sold: May 28, 2014[18]

• 1 million videos sold: October 31, 2005[86]
• 3+ million videos sold: December 6, 2005[87]
• 8 million videos sold: January 10, 2006[74]
• 15 million videos sold: February 23, 2006[75]
• 45 million videos sold: September 12, 2006[76]
• 50 million television episodes sold: January 10, 2007[76]
• 1.3 million feature-length films sold: January 10, 2007[76]
• 2 million films sold: April 11, 2007[88]
• 200 million television episodes sold: October 16, 2008[89]
• 1+ million HD episodes sold: October 16, 2008[89]

• 10 million apps downloaded: July 14, 2008[90]
• 100 million apps downloaded: September 9, 2008[91]
• 200 million apps downloaded: October 22, 2008[92]
• 300 million apps downloaded: December 5, 2008[93]
• 500 million apps downloaded: January 16, 2009[94]
• 800 million apps downloaded: March 17, 2009[95]
• 1 billion apps downloaded: April 23, 2009[96]
• 1.5 billion apps downloaded: July 14, 2009[97]
• 1.8 billion apps downloaded: September 9, 2009
• 2 billion apps downloaded: September 28, 2009
• 3 billion apps downloaded: January 5, 2010
• 7 billion apps downloaded: October 20, 2010
• 10 billion apps downloaded: January 22, 2011[98]
• 15 billion apps downloaded: July 7, 2011[99]
• 25 billion apps downloaded: March 5, 2012[100]
• 30 billion apps downloaded: June 11, 2012[101]
• 35 billion apps downloaded: October 23, 2012[102]
• 40 billion apps downloaded: January 7, 2013[103]
• 50 billion apps downloaded: May 16, 2013
• 60 billion apps downloaded: October 22, 2013
• 75 billion apps downloaded: June 2, 2014[104]
• 100 billion apps downloaded: June 8, 2015[105]
• 250 billion apps downloaded: December 2016 [106]

• On September 12, 2006, Steve Jobs announced in his "It's Showtime" keynote that Apple had 88% of the legal US music download market.[76]
• On April 11, 2007, Apple announced that the iTunes Store had sold more than two million movies, making it the world's most popular online movie store.[88]
• On February 26, 2008, the iTunes Store surpassed Best Buy to become the second-largest music vendor in the US behind Walmart, and became number one on April 3, 2008.[15]
• On October 10, 2012, the iTunes Store was reported to have a 64% share of the online music market, and a 29% share of all music sales worldwide.[107]

A user must also pay with an iTunes gift card or a credit card with a billing address in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States or Vietnam. Apple also offers other payment methods (like PayPal), which differ from country to country. Residents in other countries can only buy a gift card from a merchant or download free podcasts and previews.

For three years, The Beatles' record company Apple Records were in a legal dispute, Apple Corps v Apple Computer, with Apple Computer over the name "Apple." On May 8, 2006, a ruling was declared in favor of Apple Computer, but Apple Records said it would appeal the ruling. Despite this, plans were announced by Neil Aspinall in April 2006 to remaster completely and release the entire Beatles catalog on an unspecified online music service, as well as release some previously unheard work by the band. No date was set at that time.[166] It has also been reported that the Beatles' music catalog might initially be appearing on iTunes only, as Apple is reported to be negotiating with Britain's EMI group over an online distribution deal that might be exclusive for a limited time.[167]

During his Macworld Keynote address on January 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs used the band's song "With a Little Help from My Friends," followed by "Lovely Rita," to introduce the music-playing capabilities of the company's new iPhone. This was regarded by industry observers as further evidence that the Beatles catalog would be introduced to iTunes Music Store catalog in the near future.[168] On February 5, 2007, Apple Corps and Apple Inc. announced they had reached a settlement in their legal dispute.[169]

In a related development, Apple announced on August 14, 2007, that the entire solo catalog of John Lennon would be available on iTunes.[170] The solo catalogs of the other three Beatles, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, are also available on iTunes.

On November 16, 2010, the entire Beatles catalog was officially made available on the iTunes Store.

On June 6, 2006, The Consumer Ombudsmen in Norway, Sweden and Denmark launched a common open letter to Apple regarding the EULA of iTunes through the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon.[171] The iTunes case is based upon an official complaint[172] filed by The Consumer Council of Norway on January 25, 2006.

The main allegations were that:

• The EULA is unbalanced to disfavor the customer. Scandinavian law requires any written agreement to favor both parties. The weak party also enjoys protection from exploitation according to Norwegian consumer laws.
• The iTunes Store's use of Digital rights management limits the number of devices purchased songs can be played on.
• iTunes' contract entitles the company to at any time change the terms of the contract without notice, including the selection of players or software that must be used for iTunes files, and also the number of times a customer can change or copy already purchased files.
• The EULA is both vague and hard to understand for the customers.
• The EULA states that the legal relationship between the company and customers is regulated by English contract law. It is unreasonable to expect Norwegian consumers to have comprehensive knowledge of English law. Products marketed to Norwegian consumers in Norway are subject to Norwegian law—a right that cannot be waived by a clause in a company's standard customer contract.
• The EULA removes iTunes' responsibility regarding damage to the consumer's computer caused by software errors even though responsibility cannot be waived in Scandinavian Law.

Apple responded July 31, 2006.[173]

On January 22, 2007, German and French consumer groups joined forces with Norway and Finland.[174][175] Their goal is to create a united European front against iTunes (Germany and France have each had their own negotiation process with iTunes). According to the press statement Apple is in favor of this. The key points in the negotiations were:

• Interoperability: the consumer should have the right and ability to play his or her music on any device of his or her own choice.
• Change of conditions: iTunes must revoke their right to change the terms and conditions (EULA) at any time without the consent of the consumer.
• Liability: iTunes should change its clause limiting its liability to recover consumer damages if they are caused by content sold by iTunes.
• Applicable Law: Consumers entering into a contract with iTunes should be able to rely on the consumer protection rules according to the law of the country in which they live.

In 2004, Which? magazine complained to the European Commission about the higher prices in the UK for the same songs sold in other parts of the European Union: typically €0.99 in the rest of the EU and £0.79 in the UK.[176] In 2008, the Commission withdrew its investigation after Apple agreed to end the price disparity.[176]

On July 1, 2007, the New York Times reported[177] that Universal (the world's largest music corporation at the time of writing) would not renew its annual contract to sell music through iTunes. Instead, Universal said that it would market music to Apple at will, allowing it to remove its songs from the iTunes service on short notice if the two sides did not agree on pricing or other terms.

On August 9, 2007, UMG announced a plan to sell some songs in MP3 format, without Digital rights management, through a variety of online services such as Amazon Music and the newly created gBox. While these tracks continue to be available through the iTunes Store, Universal chose to license these songs in DRM-free formats only through other services.[178]

On August 31, 2007, Apple announced that programs on NBC's 2007–08 television schedule would not be available on iTunes.[179] NBC had informed Apple the previous day that it would not be renewing its contract.[180] It was later clarified that this change only applied to series produced by NBC Universal-owned Universal Media Studios, including Universal-produced shows on other networks such as House. NBC programs produced by other studios, such as Chuck (Warner Bros.) and Journeyman (20th Century Fox), would remain available on iTunes.[181]

Apple has publicly asserted that NBC would only renew their contract if Apple agreed to a price increase of US$4.99 per episode, which they did not. NBC disputes that claim, claiming that Apple balked at NBC's request to package shows together and make wholesale pricing more flexible.[182] NBC claims that they never asked to double the wholesale price and insisted that their shows would be sold by the iTunes Store through early December.[183] Other networks who sold their shows via iTunes did not follow suit. On December 1, 2007, NBC shows were pulled from the iTunes Store.

On September 9, 2008, Apple and NBC Universal announced that NBC's TV shows were once again available on the US iTunes Store.[184]

The UK iTunes Store has many shows from NBC available, although they are distributed by Universal Studios. The pricing for these seasons are higher than they were on the US store, an example being, Season 3 of The Office is priced at £43 (2008) (equivalent to £53 or US$68 in 2019)[185] vs. US$52.99 (equivalent to $72.02 in 2022) (US Store HD).