Apple · Engadget
Apple iTunes still exists, but not the way it tapped
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You can still buy music from the iTunes Store, believe it or not.
Key facts
- Purchased albums in 2026 can sit in your Music library right alongside files ripped from CDs back in 2004
- Once you install Apple Music or Apple TV on a PC, those apps take over music, movies and TV shows
- At the peak of iTunes' heyday, it held roughly 63% of the US paid digital download market
- Your Apple Account (formerly Apple ID) is tied to all of your purchased music, films, TV seasons, audiobooks and other content
Summary
It's been over a quarter of a century since Steve Jobs announced the release of iTunes, and it's still treading water today, in a drastically diminished state. At the peak of iTunes' heyday, it held roughly 63% of the US paid digital download market. ITunes didn't necessarily disappear so much as scatter, with various remnants dispersing into separate apps. The original iTunes was designed to manage a personal media collection, a task it was good at. You don't need a separate iTunes account to access old purchases.