In appears that Apple has started out the year by quietly making a pretty big change to the iTunes music store. As has been reported by fans in other jurisdictions, like the U.K. and Italy, it seems as though Apple as phased out the free "Single of the Week" feature that was prevalent on the iTunes homepage over the past 10 years. The feature has been a blessing and a curse, allowing artists to promote their music in one of the most trafficked music services on the Web with a free download, but also loads up music libraries with random songs that may never pan out.
The free download has been a feature since 2004, but Apple kicked off 2015 without the free downloads, and it appears to be gone for good. As pointed out by Business Insider, an Apple forum post discusses the issue and several commenters chime in on the subject. One "Bob Foss" claims to have had a discussion with an Apple employee who confirmed that the feature was indeed gone.
"I contacted iTunes Support and they told me the decision was made to drop the free Single of the Week. Seems they don't want people browsing the Store anymore. I told them that the free single each week got me to the Store and I usually bought a few songs. Now, there's less reason to go. They've stopped the free single in other countries too," says Bob Foss.
The end of the free single makes sense for Apple, as it looks to capitalize on its move in acquiring Beats Audio and Beats Music in May 2014. The move for Beats Music signals a shift toward streaming, ahead of downloads, and recognizes the new climate in the industry — remarkable for a service based on downloads. The square that was used for free downloads appears to have been filled with iTunes radio premieres, which are streams in their own right and serve audio ads.
It is a sad day for customers who wanted free music from iTunes, but let's be honest, iTunes was never the best place to find free music in the first place.
Walk the Moon used the free single of the week to promote their album:
