I think hatred for iTunes is pretty much universal, particularly with tech-savvy folks. But... it just doesn't matter. It seems like one of those siren projects

I think hatred for iTunes is pretty much universal, particularly with tech-savvy folks. But... it just doesn't matter. It seems like one of those siren projects like online dating or a better travel site. The real problem you have is that actually owning and having mp3s (or whatever lossless alternative grabs your fancy) is (IMHO) only going to decrease and become increasingly niche. Streaming will be the majority solution. Combine this with offline playlists on Spotify (which I've been paying for for years) and I just don't have any need for the mp3s I spent years collecting and curating. The only problem with Spotify and the like (including iTunes) is content that holds out on streaming (thankfully this is becoming less common) and content that simply isn't on any digital format whatsoever. Sadly this includes a lot of Australian music. Oh and you also have crappy remasters rather than the originals. The other thing that happened is we stopped backing up our iPhones by opening up iTunes and connecting the phone to a computer via a cable. Well, most people did. It's all iCloud backups now. So what exactly do we need iTunes for? That's your problem.