Business publication Bloomberg reports that Apple has plans to release a new version of iTunes by year’s end that would be the biggest update to the music, TV, and movie delivery platform since it launched way back in 2003.
Bloomberg’s sources claim that the new version of iTunes will greatly expand on iCloud, the service that lets you store your music and TV episodes in the cloud for retrieval whenever you need them. Apple will also reportedly greatly enhance the sharing features of iTunes; since we learned that Apple plans to shutter Ping, the social service it once baked into iTunes, it lacks the social integration that competing services like Spotify offer.
The sources say Apple has been working to secure the rights from record labels that it needs to allow fans to share and stream the music on social networks and other websites. The company is also reportedly trying to take a more multimedia approach with its content, grabbing up the rights to include liner note-like band photos and more with your purchases.
However, don’t expect Apple to announce a full-on, unlimited streaming library clone of Spotify or Rdio; the insiders who Bloomberg spoke with were careful to clarify that that’s not coming just yet — awesome as that would be.
Source: Bloomberg Image: Wolfgang Lonien
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