ITunes users must upgrade starting today if they wish to purchase or download songs from the ITunes Music Store, according to Apple.
Users of ITunes 4.2 or lower will receive a message when they try to access the ITunes Music Store asking them to upgrade to the latest version. The page also lists many of the new features from the last few releases.
“As of today, customers will need to use one of the three most recent versions of ITunes–4.7, 4.6, or 4.5–to continue purchasing and downloading songs,” Apple told MacCentral. “ITunes 4.7 is a free download and includes innovative features such as IMix, Party Shuffle, CD Insert Printing, and support for the complete line of IPods, including the new IPod Photo.”
The latest version is available from the company’s Web site.
According to statistics provided by Apple, the upgrade from version 4.2 affects very few users.
“Less than 5 percent of all ITunes customers are using the old ITunes 4.2 version, so asking them to upgrade to the free ITunes 4.7 is no big deal,” said Apple.
Apple most recently updated ITunes during last week’s IPod event with U2 in San Jose, California. The main new feature is support for the IPod Photo, which was introduced at the event, but ITunes 4.7 also gives users the ability to show duplicate songs in the music library.