Way back in Jan. 2001, iTunes 1.0 was released for a world that still didn’t have the Apple-everything fan base of today. Over the years however, and especially with the release of the iPod and popularity of digital music, podcasts and movies, its popularity grew rapidly.

Well, times have changed again – and many users have now switched to streaming services to the likes of Pandora and Spotify as their favorite way to consume media.

Many speculated it was only a matter of time before the innovative Apple would find a way to capitalize and win over this market too.  That’s when it announced the acquisition of Beats for $3.2 billion earlier this year.

Beats was formally established in 2006 by co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Lovine as a way to offer a truer listening experience for consumers of music. This included a Beats by Dre branded headset line and many other celebrity endorsements and marketing tactics that made Beats a household name.

While many have been growing impatient to see just how Apple would make use of the buy, now sources are reporting the company will actually be shutting down Beats Music and re-launching it as part of iTunes sometime next year.

This comes after the company said in a securities filing that its sales of iTunes music downloads are down.

With so many reports about the uptick in streaming services across the globe, it was only a matter of time before Apple realized losses in the digital music download business.

And this comes just in time. Back in July, Google purchased streaming music service Songza for $39 million and is now starting to introduce its suggestion-based music service to possible subscribers.

For $10-a-month, users can get up to six different playlists with music suggestions based on their moods and activities throughout the day.

As the battle to dominate the streaming pleasure of users heats up, it will be interesting to see if this latest move from Apple and Beats Music will keep people, “Rockin’ 'til the wheels fall off.”