The iTunes brand is being slowly carted off to the Apple graveyard.
On Thursday morning, Apple made a very subtle but profound change to the way it markets podcasts. From now on, they’re no longer called “iTunes Podcasts” — they’re called “Apple Podcasts.”
The change was officially revealed today by Apple, moving the branding more inline with Apple Music. Unfortunately, the name change doesn’t come with any major new features or updates. However, podcasters did get some new marketing guidelines to follow.
Many podcasters fear that Apple is neglecting podcasts, even though it created the entire industry when Steve Jobs introduced software for downloading digital audio shows to iPods back in 2005.
Death of iTunes means life for ‘Apple podcasts’
Apple’s iTunes brand and software has been around since 2001. iTunes put Cupertino in the driver’s seat as downloads transformed the music industry (and effectively killed the record album).
However, as streaming services like Spotify took the place of downloads, iTunes’ days became numbered. Apple eventually jumped into the streaming game by buying Beats Electronics and transforming its streaming service into Apple Music.
Over the years, iTunes software itself has become so bloated and cumbersome that many Apple fans hope the company kills the app. By moving sections like Apple Music and Apple Podcasts into their own brands, Apple is clearing a path to put iTunes out to pasture.