By Adam Satariano and Andy Fixmer - Jun 28, 2012 7:19 AM GMT+0700
Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans an overhaul of iTunes that would mark one of the largest changes to the world’s biggest music store since its 2003 debut, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Apple will unveil the changes by year’s end, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The company will more closely integrate its iCloud file- storage service with iTunes so users can more seamlessly access and manage their music, videos and downloaded software apps across different Apple gadgets, the people said. Apple also plans more features for sharing music, the people said.
ITunes has been critical to Apple’s success over the past 9 years, generating revenue of almost $1.9 billion last quarter alone as well as tethering users to a widening family of Apple products. Any changes will have implications for the media industry, because the store is the gateway for millions of iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac users to buy music, movies and television shows.
Apple’s iTunes Store has more than 28 million songs and 45,000 movies. It also houses the App Store, which offers more than 650,000 applications that can be downloaded for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.
With an increasing amount of content available on the store, the overhaul is intended to improve how people manage all their files, one person said. That includes changes to how users discover new material and how they access what they already own on different Apple devices, said one person.
Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment.
To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Satariano in San Francisco at asatariano1@bloomberg.net; Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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