--- title: "iTunes Makes a Surprising Comeback: Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande Turn Apple's Store Into a New Music Marketing Arena" description: "The iTunes Store is experiencing an unexpected surge: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Charli XCX are releasing exclusive records on Apple's store, which has become a new tool for promotion and chart positioning." date: 2026-10-28T18:14:46.319Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/itunes-surprising-comeback-taylor-swift-ariana-grande tags: [itunes, apple, taylor-swift, ariana-grande, music-streaming] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # iTunes Makes a Surprising Comeback: Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande Turn Apple's Store Into a New Music Marketing Arena ![Golden Apple logo and iTunes text on a black background](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/28/itunes-neozhidanno-ogil-teylor-svift-i-ariana-grande/itunes-neozhidanno-ogil-teylor-svift-i-ariana-grande-1.webp) ## Key Points - Apple discontinued the desktop iTunes app for macOS in 2019, but the iTunes Store continues to operate. - The iTunes Store has become a platform for exclusive and collector releases by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Doja Cat, Summer Walker, and Tinashe. - Sales of the album Life of a Showgirl outperformed streaming in its first week; Ariana Grande's concert Petal climbed from 15th to 6th on the charts. - Apple actively promotes the iTunes Store among music labels, although experts hold mixed views on the strategy's effectiveness. A platform that was considered a relic of the pre-streaming era just a few years ago is experiencing a quiet yet noticeable revival. Back in 2019, Apple discontinued the desktop iTunes app for macOS, breaking it up into separate products for music, podcasts, and TV shows, but the iTunes Store itself never stopped operating. On the contrary: according to 3DNews, it has become part of the marketing strategy for a number of major artists—Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, and Summer Walker—who are releasing exclusive editions and collector's items there. ### From Revolutionary Store to "Forgotten" App Once upon a time, the iTunes Store revolutionized the digital music market: not only did it drive the transition from physical media to digital sales, but it also made it possible on a mass scale to purchase individual tracks rather than whole albums. By the summer of 2019, however, Apple ended support for the unified iTunes app for macOS, replacing it with separate services. Since then, the world has largely shifted to streaming platforms, and only a few listeners still purchase music for ownership, making the store almost invisible against the backdrop of streaming giants. ### Why Stars Are Returning to the Store Nevertheless, a reverse trend has emerged. The iTunes Store has once again become a platform where pop stars can offer their most devoted fans collector's editions, reach new audiences, and boost their chart positions. Unlike streaming, purchasing a track or album outright gives the artist measurable commercial results and an extra push in the rankings, making the store an attractive tool specifically for marketing rollouts rather than everyday music consumption. ### Case Studies: From Life of a Showgirl to the Concert Petal The most striking example was Taylor Swift: sales of her album Life of a Showgirl—both physical copies and digital versions—generated more results in its first week than streaming did. In September 2026, Ariana Grande unexpectedly released a concert version of her album Petal as an iTunes exclusive; following the release, the album climbed the charts from 15th to 6th place. Charli XCX exclusively released additional tracks for her album Music, Fashion, Film on iTunes. Before them, exclusive releases in the store were also put out by Doja Cat, Summer Walker, and Tinashe. ### Apple's Strategy and Expert Assessments Apple itself continues to promote the iTunes Store among music labels, supporting it as an active release platform. Expert opinions on the effectiveness of this strategy are divided: some see it as a successful way to bring listeners back to the model of music ownership, while others doubt the trend's sustainability against the backdrop of streaming dominance. Nevertheless, the very fact that top global artists are purposefully using the store for exclusives and chart strategies makes this revival of the iTunes Store a fascinating and noteworthy phenomenon in the music market. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Apple iTunes неожиданно ожил: Тейлор Свифт и Ариана Гранде нашли новый способ продвигать музыку window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1150476/apple-itunes-neogidanno-ogil-teylor-svift-i-ariana-grande-nashli-noviy-sposob-prodvigat-muziku) - The primary source (author Pavel Kotov) confirms the termination of support for the iTunes app for macOS in 2019, exclusive releases by several artists in the iTunes Store, Petal's chart rise from 15th to 6th place, and Life of a Showgirl sales. Data is taken from a single source without independent verification. ## FAQ ### Does the iTunes Store still work after Apple removed the desktop iTunes app? Yes. Apple discontinued the unified iTunes app for macOS in 2019, breaking it into separate services, but the iTunes Store itself continues to operate and is used for releases. ### Which artists release exclusive content on the iTunes Store? According to 3DNews, exclusive releases in the store have been made by Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Doja Cat, Summer Walker, Tinashe, and in September 2026, Ariana Grande released a concert version of her album Petal on iTunes. ### What impact did releases on the iTunes Store have? Sales of the album Life of a Showgirl outperformed streaming in its first week, and Ariana Grande's concert version of Petal climbed from 15th to 6th place on the charts after its iTunes release.