Here’s everything you need to know about Apple Music, the new music streaming service from Apple.
What is Apple Music? Quite similar to Spotify. It will offer access to tens of millions of songs on demand over the internet on iOS devices - iPhones, iPads, Macs and PCs initially, with Apple TV and Android devices following this year.
Can I get it for free like Spotify? No. There is a three-month free trial, after which you’ll have to stump up a fee. That’s the same as Spotify - but you will be able to listen to Taylor Swift. After pulling her music from Spotify last year, she is letting Apple stream her songs. It’s also the only place to hear Pharrell Williams’ new song, Freedom - artist exclusives will be a key part of Apple’s strategy.
What else is different? Well, there’s Beats 1, a global radio station broadcast from studios in London, New York and Los Angeles. It will feature presenters including Zane Lowe and shows from the likes of Drake, Elton John, St Vincent, Disclosure and Dr Dre - who co-founded the Beats headphones business with Jimmy Iovine before the pair sold it to Apple last year. Cheapskates will be pleased to know that Beats 1 will be available without an Apple Music subscription.
Give me some gimmicks... Siri is on board, which means iOS users can tell her to “add the new Florence and the Machine album to my library”. And if you’re the lucky owner of an Apple Watch you can sync music to it and play it - even if your paired iPhone is not nearby. I hope that’s clear. Even more music ...
Just in case you weren’t aware of the existence of social media, Apple Music will let artists share comments, pictures, videos and the like - and respond directly to users’ thoughts. Why? “When musicians are free to express themselves directly to their fans, it’s a powerful thing,” says Apple sagely. Apple Music also promises to help users discover more music they like - by offering “suggestions from our experts who know and love music”. Just how good its algorithms are remains to be seen.
There will also be playlists on offer from Apple Music editors, as well as writers for Rolling Stone, Q, Pitchfork, Mojo, DJ magazine and Shazam.
Will it be better than Spotify? Good question. As a happy Spotify subscriber you’re likely to have dozens of playlists on the app and like the way it works, so may be inclined to stick with it for a while yet. But for the millions who have never used a streaming service, Apple Music is likely to prove very popular indeed.
Will Apple Music be a hit? Yes. For the price of two (central London) pints, the ability to listen to any song or album anywhere you have an internet connection is a no brainer. Once they have it, most music fans will never be able to give it up. Millions are used to paying for Sky or Netflix to watch telly - and if anyone can make the subscription model work for music, it is Apple.
Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2015
