In the age of streaming and subscriptions, the decade in which iTunes dominated feels like a fever dream we’re beginning to forget. Created in 2001, iTunes allowed users to not only purchase and listen to new music but also load existing CDs into a vast online library.
![[Apple Launch iTunes Music Store In London]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-50962035.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
All the music you could ever want, advert free in a personally collated library with a one-time purchase model that meant you owned — rather than subscribed to — your favourite tracks. Apple’s flagship music platform has quietly died in the shadows of its sleeker (and more profitable) successor but there could be one last hurrah for iTunes.
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The service has become an unsuspecting hero in the LA wildfires for The Hills star Heidi Montag as fans flocked to purchase her album in a bid to raise money. So how could iTunes become a haven for forgotten albums and smaller artists in the age of highly competitive streaming?.
![[Apple Launch iTunes Music Store In London]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-50962074.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594)
There’s a common misconception that iTunes was simply replaced by Apple Music and the pair are interchangeable but that’s not strictly true. At the peak of its usage, it contained music, podcasts, TV and movies, which were then physically split into separate apps by Apple.
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However, for those who still have the original iTunes app, it functions completely unchanged with everything still available to purchase, including new music. Unlike Apple Music, the 00s platform works without needing a subscription instead mirroring the older ‘direct to consumer’ model where if you pay for it once, it is yours forever.
![[Apple iTunes Music Store Sells Over One Million Songs]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-1983646.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594)
