Apple has made its biggest move in the music business since launching the iPod music player and digital downloads over a decade ago. Apple Music, a streaming service, will be available at the end of this month. For $9.99 a month, people will have access to an unlimited number of songs. Videos and radio will also be available. Chief executive Tim Cook claimed “it will change the way you listen to music forever”.
What the commentators said
That’s pushing it, as The Economist pointed out. It merely “draws together many familiar and existing elements of other music services into one convenient offering”. It will try to differentiate itself by having playlists compiled by people rather than computer, while another distinguishing feature will be a 24-hour worldwide radio station with real DJs. But ultimately it is encroaching on territory held by on-demand streaming services, notably Sweden’s Spotify, which boasts 15 million paid subscribers. It is not leading a revolution.
For 12 years, Apple clung to the notion that “music fans would rather buy than rent”, said James McQuivey of Forrester Research. Now it is acknowledging it might be wrong. Streaming, whereby people listen rather than download and own, has become more popular. “Digital downloads don’t make sense for consumers that are connected [to the internet] wherever they go.” They are now better off paying a subscription for listening to unlimited music or videos.
“Derivative” Apple Music may well be, said Jordan Weissmann on slate.com, but it could still be a big hit. Apple has 800 million credit cards on file. Many of its fans will insist on using only Apple products. So it could soon catch up with Spotify. And with Apple’s vast cash pile, outspending its rival on marketing won’t be hard. “Apple could potentially win just by hanging around long enough.”