# iTunes Store

18 Hacker News commenters recommended iTunes Store and 15 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for DRM-free music you can download and keep, including lossless files; the common caveat is purchased movies and music disappearing from accounts.

## Why people recommend it

- DRM-free music downloads you keep (5 comments): "they ditched DRM on music in that time period too and will sell you lossless ALAC as well as MP4 audio" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48352099)) "I can buy DRM free music from the iTunes Store, download the files, and they're mine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48698944)) "With Apple, you can at least download the media you bought and keep it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48694664))
- Easy, reasonable-priced music purchases (4 comments): "if you give people and easy and convenient way to pay a reasonable price for music/movies" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48790925)) "I still prefer purchasing tracks via the iTunes Music Store" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46344501)) "I have fond memories of buying those 99 cents songs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48727310))

## What people warn about

- Purchased content removed from accounts (4 comments): "iTunes recognised it, linked it to the matching official entry in their music store, they lost the licence and deleted all customer copies including mine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48363230)) "I've had movies I've "bought" disappear from the Apple account." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48361168)) "all UK purchased content was gone from my itunes account" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50211868))
- Neglected store, sidelined for years (2 comments): "Apple has neglected the iTunes store for years. Yes, you can still buy tracks, but it's really crappy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46199601)) "sidelining the iTunes store where you could buy songs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913814))
- Movies restricted to certain devices (2 comments): "Of course buying a movie on itunes means you can only watch it on capable devices." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359872)) "my purchasing decision wasn't influenced by how many use cases it would restrict" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359020))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Bandcamp](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bandcamp.md): 132 recommend
- [7digital](https://hackerapproved.com/p/7digital.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.apple.com/itunes/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "iTunes Store", https://hackerapproved.com/p/itunes-store/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).