Apple Joins the World of Music Streaming with Apple Music

Apple Music will be Apple’s first major contribution to music since the iPod was released 14 years ago. The speedy and sleek innovation changed the world of music forever by allowing users to easily transfer music to an organized device through which they could listen to music anytime, anywhere. The integral creation of iTunes made it easy for listeners to download music and gave artists a new platform on which to sell their music.

Aside from this substantial role, however, Apple has been almost absent from the music scene. We’ve seen major innovations from them in terms of computer, cell phone, and watch technology, but the company has hardly made a name for itself in music.

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That’s all about to change with Apple Music. With the tagline, “All the Ways You Love Music. All in One Place,” Apple Music is an ambitious project designed to bring together all of your favorite aspects of music streaming in one place. Essentially, Apple is trying to compete with Spotify, Pandora, and other major music streaming services.

Beginning June 30 for iPhone users and sometime in the fall for Android users, Apple Music will be a free service for the first three months that you use it. However, after that, it will cost you $9.99 per month. Apple Music will also offer a family plan for up to six people for $14.99 per month.

Spotify and Pandora offer music streaming with several satisfying features at not cost. What exactly would you be paying for with Apple Music? In favor of the new app, Beats co-founder and music guru Jimmy Iovine describes Apple Music as “a bigger and better ecosystem with the elegance and simplicity that only Apple can do.” Is it worth the money? Check out some features of Apple Music below and decide for yourself.

For You

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For You is the window of Apple Music that uses the entire iTunes library to curate playlists for you based on your likes and dislikes. It offers over 30 million songs, offering an advantage over Spotify since not all artists are keen on the idea of streaming their music for free. Some musicians, including Taylor Swift, don’t offer their music on Spotify, rightfully believing that such services take away the value of musical art.

Similar to Pandora, For You offers a song discovery feature that “offers song suggestions based on user preference” and can be “liked” or “disliked,” just how songs can be given a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” on Pandora. Additionally, like Spotify, For You features preset playlists that listeners can choose based on their favorite music genres. However, unlike Spotify, these playlists are curated by reputable names such as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

However, For You offers one feature that sets it way ahead of Pandora and Spotify’s similar abilities: its playlists are created by human experts instead of algorithms and metadata. Adding a human touch to a musical technology gives Apple Music a valuable advantage. Apple Music also has a leg up because it puts features of Pandora and Spotify all in one place, proving digitaltrends.com’s description of it as a “one-stop shop.”

New

“Anytime you want to find out what’s going on in the world of music, our experts are there to give you their take on the freshest and most relevant stuff around.” – Apple

New caters to the 21^st century’s obsession with knowing about the latest and greatest thing by showcasing newly released music. Spotify has a similar option with the New Music Tuesday playlist released each week. However, it appears that Apple Music’s New section will be more frequently updated. It also personalizes the listening experience by featuring music based on the listener’s previously played tracks.

Beats 1 Radio

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A 24-hour radio station broadcasted from LA, NYC, and London, Beats 1 Radio “deliver[s] exclusive content, interviews, guest presenters, and more.” It will be overseen by Grammy-nominated BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, who is to be the head of the LA station. Surely Lowe has a multitude of radio tricks up his sleeve will be able to lend an informed hand to Beats 1 Radio. Prominent DJs Ebro Darden and Julie Adenuga will host the stations in NYC and London, respectively.  Beats 1 Radio will also adopt the genre-specific stations that are part of iTunes Radio.

Connect

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Adding another human touch to Apple Music, Connect allows users to – you guessed it – connect with the artists who are on the app. The Connect window provides fans with valuable information straight from their favorite artists. It’s kind of a half-way social media platform where artists can post photos, videos, lyrics, audio clips, etc. Fans can comment on and like these posts, but won’t have a profile of their own.

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While Apple Music may not be offering anything totally new and innovative, it is making it easier to listen to and discover new music, create playlists, and connect with artists all in the same place with the modern simplicity that is attractive to our generation. Because the application will come with every iOS 9 download and the first three months are free, Apple Music has an advantage over other music streaming services. Additionally, even though Apple Music is a little late to the music streaming game, its creators already knew what users would want and expect from a music streaming service.

Do you think that users will feel inclined to pay the $10/month fee for the convenience of having everything in one place, or do you think that users are content with having everything they need for free scattered throughout different applications and platforms? Would you become a user of Apple Music?