The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States.On January 6, 2009, Apple announced that DRM had been removed from 80% of the entire music catalog in the U.S.[3] Full iTunes Plus availability was achieved on April 7, 2009 in the U.S., coinciding with the introduction of a three-tiered pricing model however, television shows and movies are still FairPlay-protected
The release of the iPhone and iPod Touch brought the introduction of the iTunes Music Store. This version of the iTunes Store allows owners of the iPod Touch and iPhone to purchase music and download podcasts directly on the portable music device . Originally to access the store the user had to be connected to a Wi-Fi network in order to enter the store, hence its original name: the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. However, at Macworld 2009, Apple issued a software update which automatically allowed 3G and EDGE users to access the store's full functionality for files smaller than 10 MB. The 3.0 update added the ability to download movies, TV shows, audiobooks, iTunes U, and ringtones on the devices. However, on 18 February 2010, Apple increased the 10MB limit to 20MB.