Apple is considering releasing an iTunes app for Android devices according to a new report.
Currently entirely iOS exclusive may well make the move to Android in the future, if this report from Billboard is true.
Apparently, Apple’s revenue from iTunes music sales have been declining over recent years and Apple is considering opening its music store up to Android devices to help boost income.
If Apple opened up iTunes to Android users, it could potentially draw in millions of new customers who are only using Android devices and the Google Play store to purchase their music.
Android users already have access to the Google Play Music service and Amazon’s digital music store, so introducing iTunes wouldn’t necessarily guarantee a wealth of new users.
Apple is also supposedly considering launching a paid music subscription service to rival the likes of Spotify, Pandora and Google Play Music All Access.
The report suggests Apple has “opened exploratory talks” with senior music label executives about a potential on-demand streaming service, “according to three people familiar with the talks”.
In the US, Apple already has a free, ad-supported radio service called iTunes Radio, but it makes the majority of its music money from the single and album sales via iTunes.
Apple equates to around 40 per cent of the US music revenue and such major changes could have a huge effect on music labels’ business models.
"They are feeling out some people at labels on thoughts about transitioning its customers from iTunes proper to a streaming service," saidone major label source. "So when you buy a song for $1.29, and you put it in your library, iTunes might send an e-mail pointing out that for a total of, say, $8 a month you can access that song plus all the music in the iTunes store. It's all in the 'what if' stage."
The talks are still “at a very early stage”, the sources suggest, so don’t expect any major iTunes announcements from Apple soon.
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