ITunes Store
digital media store operated by Apple Inc
iTunes Store is a digital marketplace selling songs, albums, music videos, ringtones and alert tones. It was launched by Apple on April 28, 2003, for Mac OS X, and on October 16, 2003, for Microsoft Windows. It launched as a mobile application with iOS on June 29, 2007.
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. 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.
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. Music streaming services began to overtake music downloading, with Apple launching Apple Music on June 30, 2015.
History
Steve Jobs saw the opportunity to open a digital marketplace for music due to the rising popularity of easily downloadable tracks. In 2002, Jobs made an agreement with the five major record labels to offer their content through iTunes. The iTunes Music Store (later iTunes Store) was introduced by Jobs at a special Apple music event in April 2003.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “ITunes Store” as digital media store operated by Apple Inc. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as digital media store operated by Apple Inc. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q9593. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
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This entry incorporates text from “ITunes Store” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.