Music.app has a few streaming options. You can stream songs you've bought on iTunes. You can listen to iTunes Radio. You can pay $25/year and stream any MP3 you possess on your home computer and also then get iTunes Radio commercial free.
edit: I'm pretty sure iTunes actually uses a cached progressive download, but the difference is academic.
You can stream music with iTunes Radio. And You can kind of stream music (music already in your iTunes library) if you use iTunes Match.
If you subscribe to iTunes match then it will stream any music from your uploaded library.
Music app requires iTunes.
Nah. If you only get stuff from Apple it absolutely does not.
iTunes is only required if you want to add your own music.
What does it require iTunes for?
sorry stock Apple music app
I am not aware of anything that the stock Apple music app requires iTunes for.
How else do you get music into the app? Also itunes Radio and buy songs via itunes on the device is still itunes
If you define buying music through the app itself as 'iTunes' then this is a meaningless discussion aimed at bashing the word 'iTunes'.
You can use the app perfectly well without ever going near the desktop iTunes software, as you say by buying music through the device, or using iTunes Radio.
If you have other music you want to load, the yes, you need to use the desktop app for that.
What's your point?
I've always found the iOS Music app superior to pretty much everything else (including Play). Obviously it doesn't have streaming but as a player the UI is much better. I find Play quite confusing and it wastes a lot of space (e.g. the artists screen - I don't need to see a photo of the artist with their name, it doesn't add any value).