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As first reported in June, Apple has made the decision to kill off iTunes, the iconic digital music database that revolutionised the music industry. With the latest Mac update, Catalina, the axing becomes official: the functions undertaken by iTunes have been split into three apps that allow users to view music separately to, say, podcasts. The new apps are called, naturally, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV. The question that arises with this news is that of what will happen to users’ personal libraries — the answer is that any downloaded MP3 files on a user’s hard drive will automatically be organised in the new Music application.
The new Music app comes with its own set of problems, most notably the fact that it seems to be wreaking havoc on DJs who previously relied on the system’s use of XML file support to share playlists between applications. As The Verge reports, Apple has rescinded a previous announcement that Music wouldn’t still support XML files, advising users who rely on not to update until the issue is fixed. XML file support allows DJs to organise tracks into playlists and share them seamlessly with DJing applications such as Rekordbox and Traktor; without it, any previous sorting is rendered moot.
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