Type | Digital music store Video on demand (moved to Apple TV) App store (moved to App Store) Ebook store (moved to Apple Books) |
---|---|
Launch date | April 28, 2003 October 16, 2003 (Microsoft Windows) June 29, 2007 (iOS) | (macOS)
Platform(s) | macOS iOS tvOS Windows 10 and later |
Availability | See Internationalization |
Website | apple |
iTunes Store is a digital marketplace selling songs, albums, music videos, ringtones and alert tones. It was launched by Apple Inc. on April 28, 2003 for macOS, and on October 16, 2003 for Microsoft Windows. It launched as a mobile application with iOS on June 29, 2007.[1]
It previously sold mobile applications until the launch of the App Store on July 10, 2008, and e-books until the launch of the iBooks Store on March 31, 2010.[2] It also used to facilitate the downloading of podcasts which later became integrated into Apple Podcasts, as well as the provision to buy and rent films and TV shows which has since become integrated into Apple TV.[3]
The iTunes Store opened as part of then-CEO Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. When it launched, it was the only legal digital catalog of music to offer songs from all five major record labels, which played a part in its success and influenced the music downloading business.[4] Music streaming services began to overtake music downloading, with Apple launching Apple Music on June 30, 2015.[5]