Decision to break up iTunes in macOS Catalina may be well timed

Zuora’s “End of Ownership” report finds that more than half of Americans want to “own less stuff” – and 79% of U.S. adults today are achieving this through a subscription service. Which bodes well for Apple’s move to break up iTunes into three separate apps — Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV — in this fall’s macOS Catalina.

The company — which provides cloud-based subscription management software — says iTunes in its former version didn’t meet consumer expectations; each additional feature made it more complicated for users. Their growing dissatisfaction has finally been acknowledged by Apple. With the death of iTunes—and its subsequent break-up into numerous apps—Apple is evolving with and embracing streaming and subscription services, which is exactly what consumers want, according to Zuora.   

“If a traditionally product-centric company like Apple can constantly adjust its product-offerings to meet the needs and usage trends of its consumers, that should be a signal for companies of all shapes and sizes to take a good, hard look at their business model in an asset-light era,” the research group says.