Most people strive to be on time everywhere. But in Apple’s case, the giant technology company hopes that being a late arrival to the party isn’t a bad thing.
Mixed in with a loyal customer base, being late to the party is exactly what Apple is banking on in its release of Apple Music.
After watching online streaming music apps for the past couple of years, the wait is over. Apple released a subscription-based music streaming program with the release of its new iOS 8.4 software update in June.
For $9.99 a month, Apple users have access to a 30-million song library. With a few clicks during set up, the app becomes your personal music concierge, matching your preferences with songs in the same genre as you want to hear.
To hook subscribers, Apple is currently offering a three-month free trial. Siri also gets in on the act as her queries for specific music can be played directly in the Apple Music app.
This release is a blow to iTunes music libraries. While you can still access iTunes through the Apple Music release, users may not find the need with the streaming music library. Other than to play songs while offline, Apple Music has listeners basic needs met without purchasing individual songs.
Apple is also now directly competing with established companies who feed into their vast revenue stream. Spotify and Pandora now offer their services to iPhone and iPad users, and Apple takes 30 percent of their subscription fees if users sign up through them.
Because of Apple’s practices – and some pretty stringent policies regarding what information app providers can display through their apps – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an inquiry. While Apple is not facing any charges, the inquiry is an information-gathering process should the FTC decide a full investigation is necessary.
Since Apple’s launch, rumors about potential competition from Facebook over a new music program have been swirling. Those rumors have not been confirmed by officials at Facebook, but another set of rumors with ad-supported video does seem to be in the works. Rumors that Facebook would also launch a music video service – akin to Google’s Youtube – are also flying around, and a staffer declined to comment about that in a recent interview.
