Apple Music

Not to be confused with Apple Records.
Apple Music
Opened June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30)[1]
Owner Apple Inc.
Pricing model $9.99 / single license
$14.99 / family license
Platforms
Availability Widely in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and in parts of Africa and the Middle East
Website apple.com/music/
Beats 1
City of license Los Angeles, California
New York City, New York (United States)
London, England (United Kingdom)
Broadcast area Over 100 countries on devices running iOS, Android, OS X, Windows[2]
Slogan Worldwide. Always on.
First air date June 30, 2015
Format Freeform radio, Eclectic radio, Contemporary hit radio
Language(s) English
Owner Apple Inc.
Webcast iTunes HLS stream (64-256 Kbps AAC)
Website applemusic.tumblr.com/beats1
itunes.apple.com/beats1

Apple Music is a music streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on demand. The service includes the curated Internet radio station Beats 1, the blog platform Connect that allows artists to share their posts, photos, videos and tracks with fans, and Radio which incorporates some aspects of iTunes Radio. Apple Music provides music recommendations based on user's taste and is integrated with Siri voice commands.

Overview

Apple stated at the WWDC 2015 that the service would launch at the end of June 2015 and would be free for the first three months of usage. After that, Apple Music subscription would cost US$9.99 per month,[3] close to the economic equilibrium point for the recording industry estimated by the Open Music Model.

Users select music on a device, which then plays on the device via Internet streaming and may be saved to the device for offline access. The service also provides music recommendations based on user taste. While Apple Music's cost and music library are similar to other music streaming services, the service aims to distinguish itself with added features and content exclusives.[4]

Apple Music includes Internet radio stations curated by famous artists. Beats 1, the first station, plays continuously in 100 countries and is staffed by former BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, hip hop DJ Ebro Darden, and Julie Adenuga.

A third feature, Connect, is a blog platform where artists share media with fans.[4] Some of the uploaded media will be exclusive to Connect's platform.[5] Apple Music also accepts Siri voice commands, including requests for specific songs and more generalized selections, such as for the top charted tracks from a specific period of time[4] or "the song from Selma".[5]

The Apple Music app has several tabs. The "For You" section recommends music for the user. Human expert selections supplement the algorithmic curation. Every user has a "My Music" section that shows both purchased songs and tracks available for streaming.[5] "Radio" incorporates some aspects of iTunes Radio, such as ad-supported "stations" which play genre-specific or artist-related music, depending on the user's preferences.[6]

History

Before Apple Music, the company's iPod and iTunes were known for having "revolutionized digital music".[4] Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was previously opposed to the idea of music subscription services.[4] Through its purchase of audio equipment maker Beats Electronics in 2014, Apple gained ownership of its own service Beats Music.[7][8] With Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers also becoming responsible for the ad-supported iTunes Radio service,[8] Business Insider later reported that Apple was planning to merge the two services together. Apple also hired noted British radio DJ Zane Lowe to serve as a music curator.[9]

After a period of rumors and anticipation, Apple Music was announced at Apple's June 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference[10] with plans for launch later that month.[4] The "one more thing" reveal[5] had been confirmed by Sony Music CEO Doug Morris and The Wall Street Journal reports prior to the announcement. Morris added that he expected the service to restore the music industry's prior state of financial prosperity. He said that Apple Music's ad-supported streams would have a halo effect on the market where Spotify was unable to profit.[10] Hip hop artist Drake appeared onstage at the announcement event to elaborate on how he used the Connect platform. Apple also emphasized how unsigned artists could participate in Connect.[5]

Apple Music is available in over 100 countries
Global availability of Apple Music

Apple Music launched on June 30, 2015, in 100 countries. New users received a three-month trial subscription, which reverts to a monthly fee. A family plan allows six users to share a subscription at a reduced rate.[5] Apple originally sought to enter the market at a lower price point for the service, but the music industry rejected the plan.[4] The service debuts as an iOS device exclusive alongside the same-day iOS 8.4 update. Apple TV and Android device support is planned for a Q3 2015 launch.[5] A previously unreleased song by Pharrell Williams entitled "Freedom" was used in promotional material and has been announced as an exclusive release on the launch of the service.[11] The "History of Sound" advert for the launch of the Apple Music service was soundtracked by the tune "There Is No Light" by Wildbirds & Peacedrums, from their 2009 album The Snake.[12] Upon its launch, Beats Music subscriptions and playlists were migrated to Apple Music, and the service was discontinued.[13]

Apple Music has 10 million paying subscribers just six months after launching.[14]

Reception

Apple Music received mixed reviews at launch for its unintuitive interface,[15][16] the amount of bugs and battery life problems[17] and its offline services being contingent on using the iCloud Music Library feature. This feature takes away the ability for the user to sync music locally and has caused chaos for some users' music libraries.[18][19] However, the service was praised for its smart functions. The Verge wrote that the service was similar to its contemporaries in regards to library size and cost.[4] Mashable noted the emphasis on human curation in Apple Music, pointing out the various human curated radio stations and the accuracy of the curated playlists recommended to users in the For Me section. The author concluded saying "[T]he For Me section alone has made me excited about music for the first time in a long time."[20] Ars Technica wrote that Apple's emphasis on unsigned artist participation in Connect could be an effort to restore the company's former reputation as a "tastemaker" in the mid-2000s.[5]

Royalty payment policy

Shortly before Apple Music was released, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift wrote an open letter publicly criticizing Apple's decision to not reimburse artists during a user's three-month free trial period and announced that she would be holding back her album 1989 from the service.[21] She said the policy was "unfair" as "Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months". UK independent record label Beggars Group also criticized the three-month trial period, saying it struggled "to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple's customer acquisition costs".[22][23]

The day after Swift's letter, Eddy Cue announced on Twitter that Apple had changed its policy and that Apple Music "will pay artist for streaming, even during customer's free trial period".[24][25] On Twitter, Swift wrote "After the events of this week, I've decided to put 1989 on Apple Music... And happily so". She concluded saying it was "the first time it's felt right in my gut to stream my album".[26]

Record label cartel

In negotiations with record labels for the new service, Apple allegedly attempted to encourage record labels to pull their content from the free, ad-supported tiers of competing services such as Spotify in order to drive adoption of Apple Music, and offered an incentive to Universal Music Group to pull its content from YouTube. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into this alleged cartel in May 2015.[27][28]

Compatibility

Apple Music is compatible with iOS devices running version 8.4 or later, iTunes version 12.2 or later (OS X Mavericks or later; Windows 7 or later), and the Apple Watch. It received a release for Android devices and Apple TV on November 10, 2015. It is also possible to listen to Apple Music live streams in iTunes 11, by manually adding a station in the Radio tab. Windows XP and Windows Vista users only have access to iTunes Radio and are unable to listen to live streaming stations, as they are encrypted with FairPlay DRM.[29] Access to Apple Music's live streams requires an Apple ID logged in from a supported country.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Introducing Apple Music — All The Ways You Love Music. All in One Place.". Apple Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Availability of Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, and iTunes Match". apple.com.
  3. ↑ "Apple W.W.D.C. 2015: iOS 9, Apple Pay and Other Announcements". The New York Times. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Popper, Ben; Singleton, Micah (June 8, 2015). "Apple announces its streaming music service, Apple Music". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Machkovech, Sam (June 8, 2015). "Apple Music is 'the next chapter in music,' debuts June 30". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Music – Radio – Apple". Apple Inc. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Apple Paying Less Than $500 Million for Beats Music Streaming Service". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 "With Apple-Beats Deal Complete, Ian Rogers To Run iTunes Radio". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "What we're hearing about the new music-streaming service Apple is developing in secret". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 Plaugic, Lizzie (June 7, 2015). "Sony Music boss confirms Apple will reveal its music streaming service tomorrow". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ McIntyre, Hugh (June 25, 2015). "Pharrell's New Single 'Freedom' Will Serve As Apple Music's First Exclusive". Forbes.
  12. ↑ "Wildbirds & Peacedrums soundtrack Apple Music launch". The Leaf Label. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Beats Music Tells Users To Switch To Apple Music". TechCrunch. AOL Inc. (Verizon Communications). Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Apple Music Just Did in Six Months What Took Spotify Six Years". Fortunel. 11 January 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  15. ↑ Kline, Daniel. "Apple Music: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". The Motley Fool. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  16. ↑ Heisler, Yoni (July 9, 2015). "Apple Music on iTunes is an embarrassing and confusing mess". Boy Genius Report. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  17. ↑ Eadiciccio, Lisa (July 5, 2015). "I ditched Spotify to use Apple Music — and I don't miss it". Business Insider. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  18. ↑ Dalrymple, Jim (July 22, 2015). "Apple Music is a nightmare and I'm done with it". The Loop. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  19. ↑ Chavez, Ronald (July 23, 2015). "Influential Apple fan trashes Apple Music, calls it a nightmare". Mashable. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  20. ↑ Warren, Christina (June 30, 2015). "Apple Music first look: It's all about curation, curation, curation". Mashable. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  21. ↑ Swift, Taylor (June 21, 2015). "Taylor Swift – To Apple, Love Taylor". Tumblr. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  22. ↑ "With regards to Apple Music...". Beggars Group. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Taylor Swift pulls 1989 album from Apple Music". BBC News. June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Apple Music changes policy after Taylor Swift stand". BBC News. June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  25. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (June 21, 2015). "Apple Changes Course After Taylor Swift Open Letter: Will Pay Labels During Free Trial". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  26. ↑ Rosen, Christopher (June 25, 2015). "Taylor Swift is putting 1989 on Apple Music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Big Music Labels Want to Make Free Music Hard to Get, and Apple Says They’re Right". Re/code. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  28. ↑ "Apple pushing music labels to kill free Spotify streaming ahead of Beats relaunch". The Verge. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  29. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Developer Finds A Web Stream For Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio That Lets Android Users Tune In". TechCrunch. AOL.
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