Is Apple Music a free or paid subscription service and is it comparable to the old iTunes or something altogether different?

Hi Italia1029,

Here's some information that may help clarify your questions.

First, the Apple Music app itself is an app used to access and play audio content that has been synced or downloaded to the device. While this article was written for Macs, the app descriptions included still pertain to other devices as well: What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support

There is also a subscription service called Apple Music, which can be accessed through the Apple Music app, which allows access to an online library of music and content. Without this subscription, the Apple Music app can only be used to play synced or purchased tracks. The page Apple Music - Apple goes into that in greater detail.

There is no free version of the subscription service, but you can still use the app for content you already own or have the right to transfer to the iPhone without fee.

Regards.