iTunes has been the go-to place for buying digital music ever since it launched the iTunes Music Store in 2003. For nearly two decades, iTunes was the dominant player in the music download business. However, in recent years, iTunes has moved away from selling music downloads in favor of streaming. So can you still buy MP3s and own music from the iTunes Music Store in 2023? Let’s take a look.
The Decline of Music Downloads
In the early 2000s, services like iTunes, Napster, and Rhapsody helped kickstart the digital music revolution. For the first time, music fans could purchase single songs or entire albums as digital downloads rather than physical CDs. This led to a boom in legal music downloads through the 2000s, with peak revenue occurring in 2012. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), download revenue in the U.S. totaled $2.8 billion in 2012.
However, music industry revenues from downloads have declined precipitously since then due to the rise in music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. The RIAA reports that download revenue fell to just $985 million in 2019, a 65% decrease from the 2012 peak. This highlights a massive shift in listener behavior away from owning music to accessing it via streaming subscriptions and ad-supported tiers. According to the RIAA, streaming became the dominate revenue source for the music industry in 2016 and has continued to gain market share since.
The Shift to Music Streaming
What led to the rapid adoption of music streaming? A few key factors:
- Improved mobile broadband coverage and faster speeds enabled on-the-go streaming.
- Smartphones became the primary listening devices for many music fans.
- Streaming services delivered a more convenient, cheaper alternative compared to paid downloads.
- Streaming platforms like Spotify emerged with large song catalogs and playlist curation.
Music streaming offers users instant access to vast catalogs of songs through paid subscriptions or free ad-supported tiers. This on-demand access has made ownership less appealing for many listeners. Downloads like those sold on iTunes require manually syncing music to devices and uploading it to the cloud. With streaming, your music collection is available instantly across all your devices.
The Decline of iTunes Music Downloads
Given the broader shift away from music downloads, it’s not surprising that sales on iTunes specifically have dramatically eroded. Apple dominated music downloads for years. At its peak in 2012, iTunes controlled over 60% of the paid music download market. Now iTunes’ download sales are just a fraction of what they once were.
Apple stopped publicly reporting iTunes Music Store revenue in 2015. Based on estimates, iTunes download revenue dropped from $3.9 billion in 2014 to $967 million in 2019, almost a 75% decrease. iTunes controlled less than 10% of the overall download market by 2018 according to CNBC.
This steep decline in iTunes downloads aligns with the rise of Apple Music, Apple’s streaming service. Launched in 2015, Apple Music now has over 60 million subscribers as of 2019. While Apple doesn’t break out figures, it’s clear Apple Music has replaced iTunes downloads as the company’s focus in the music business.
| Year | iTunes Music Downloads Revenue (Est.) | Apple Music Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $3.9 billion | N/A (Launched in 2015) |
| 2019 | $967 million | 60 million |
Can You Still Buy MP3s on iTunes?
So now to the key question – with iTunes downloads dwindling, can you still purchase MP3s from the iTunes Music Store in 2023? The short answer is yes, but finding and accessing the store is not as straightforward as it once was.
Here are some key points about iTunes Music Store availability:
- Apple still operates the iTunes Music Store, but has removed it from the default iTunes app and redesigned iTunes to focus on consumption rather than purchases.
- To access the store now, you need to open the iTunes app on a computer, click on Account > Sign in, and then click on Music Store in the menu bar at the top.
- The iTunes Music Store is no longer prominently promoted or frequently updated. The catalog selection is limited compared to streaming services.
- You can still purchase both individual song downloads and full album downloads just like before.
- Downloads are saved in the iTunes library and can be synced and accessed the same way as in the past.
To summarize, while Apple has intentionally buried the iTunes Music Store, it still exists for now even if in a neglected state compared to its heyday. But expect the download store’s presence to continue diminishing over time.
The Future of iTunes
The demise of downloads reflects Apple’s strategic shift away from iTunes as purely a music store to a more multimedia, cloud-centric application. Apple divided up iTunes functionality into separate Music, Podcast, and TV apps in macOS Catalina starting in 2019. Meanwhile, the new Apple TV app provides access to Apple Music subscriptions and replaces video purchases that once lived in iTunes.
Apple is clearly moving away from an app centrally focused on sales in favor of content consumption, subscriptions, and services. But the company has kept the iTunes Music Store alive as downloads still represent a not insignificant slice of the overall music business. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports there were still 80 million download units sold in the U.S. in the first half of 2022, although this was down over 20% from the same period last year.
It is unclear how much longer Apple will maintain the iTunes Music Store given its diminishing relevance. It is likely just a matter of time until Apple shutters downloads entirely to focus on streaming. But in the meantime, those still interested in purchasing downloads for collection can still do so on iTunes, even if a bit of digging is required compared to iTunes’ heyday.
Alternatives for Purchasing Music Downloads
While iTunes downloads are still available, the service’s decreasing prominence prompts the question – where else can consumers buy music downloads in 2023 if looking for an alternative? There are a few options that remain.
Amazon Music Store
Like Apple, Amazon has invested heavily in music streaming with Amazon Music Unlimited. However, Amazon still operates their Amazon Music Store for MP3 purchases. It offers a catalog of over 50 million songs. Purchased downloads can be downloaded directly or imported into the Amazon Music library for streaming access. The store is integrated into the Amazon Music app and website.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp offers a platform for artists to sell downloads of their music directly to fans. Musicians upload their songs and set their own pricing. Fans can purchase downloads or physical media from artist pages. Bandcamp takes a small revenue share on sales. There are over 1 million albums available from indie artists. Downloads come in MP3, FLAC, ALAC, and other formats.
7digital
Founded in 2004, 7digital is one of the original digital music stores pioneering MP3 downloads. It remains an active music store as well as powering downloads for other businesses. 7digital offers a catalog of over 30 million tracks that can be purchased as MP3s. Downloads are available through their website or mobile apps.
HDtracks
HDtracks differentiates itself by focusing on high-resolution music downloads beyond standard MP3s. It carries major label and indie albums in premium formats like FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, and more. HDtracks offers over 12 million tracks in CD-quality or high-resolution audio up to 192kHz/24 bit. Purchases are downloaded or can be imported to streaming apps.
Pros of Continued Music Downloads
Given the dominant trend toward streaming, why would anyone still want to purchase music downloads in 2023? There are some benefits that downloads provide over streaming:
- Permanent access – Purchased downloads are yours to keep forever regardless of what happens with licensing deals. Streamed songs could potentially disappear if an artist or label pulls their catalog from a service.
- Higher quality – Downloads can offer uncompressed or high-resolution files for better audio quality. Streaming is typically compressed.
- Shuffle and organize – You have more control over shuffle behavior, metadata tagging, mixing playlists, etc. when you own the files.
- Collect music – Downloads allow you to build a permanent library of albums/artists. Streaming is more limited for collectors.
- Offlines access – Downloaded music can be accessed anywhere without an internet connection.
Granted streaming offers unparalleled convenience and discovery. But downloads give consumers true ownership and control over their music collection.
The Downside of Music Downloads
However, there are some downsides of relying solely on purchased downloads:
- Limited catalog size compared to the expansive libraries of streaming services.
- Purchasing downloads can get expensive compared to streaming subscriptions.
- Need to manually manage and upload music to the cloud for access across devices.
- No personalized recommendations or automatically generated playlists.
In the end, it comes down to personal preference. Die-hard music collectors who want control over a library of owned music will find downloads superior. But most mainstream listeners prefer the simplicity and breadth of music streaming.
Conclusion
While iTunes Music Store downloads are still available in 2023, the era of iTunes dominance is clearly over. Apple has pivoted to streaming with Apple Music, while downloading has become a niche activity compared to streaming. But other download stores like Amazon and niche providers still cater to those who prefer owning music.
Downloads require more manual management compared to the ease of streaming. However, owned music provides permanence, control, and higher quality formats compared to compressed streaming libraries. Music collectors in particular still favor downloads. But convenience and mobility make streaming preferable for most casual listeners.
In the end, iTunes Music Store still exists though likely not for much longer. But music downloads as a model will live on for the foreseeable future even as a smaller music market segment. While not the cash cow it once was, download revenue remains in the hundreds of millions annually. So even as streaming captures the lion’s share of music industry profits, the download era is not entirely over yet even if iTunes’ time has passed.
