Swedish music streamer Spotify has more to lose from Apple’s anticipated Beats Music revamp than its competition, according to new usage data, as iOS accounts for a majority of Spotify’s active users.
Apple really has to do this right. We’ve seen music services do big, splashy relaunches and users really don’t care—I really don’t care. There are some key points that Apple needs to take care of to beat out Spotify—if they don’t, it’s going to be a tough road ahead for them. Music is very important to Apple, there is no doubt about that, but they have to keep the focus and intensity on this that they’ve shown for their other products.
And to do it right, they need to launch internationally. iTunes Radio still isn’t available in UK and we’ve heard very little about Apple Pay.
Forcing competitors to shut down their freemium services is not doing it right. I sure hope those rumors are false.
What rumors? Any references?
James, this article links to several stories citing these rumors.
http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/05/apple-beats-ftc/
The story originally appeared in The Verge.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/4/8540935/apple-labels-spotify-streaming
The Verge is basically tech Huffington at the moment. Here from macrumors
“However, music-industry executives told Bloomberg that Apple has made no such demands.”
http://www.macrumors.com/2015/05/05/ftc-investigates-new-streaming-serivce/
Rely solely on the Verge would make one’s IQ drop.
I think if iTunes Radio had been halfway successful they would have rolled it out. Pretty obvious from the get go it was a dud.
Apple should have just bought Spotify while it had it’s wallet open for Beats.
If they can’t do classical right, then the won’t have my business. Apple and Spotify, as of yet, don’t seem to understand or appreciate the classical segment. Pandora is decent, but skews towards mainstream albums.
Beats is a day late and a dollar short.
Since music has now been commoditized, the only differentiator is price.
Curation will not be the secret sauce. Not enough people caste about human curation.
Spotify is one of the worst music services I’ve ever used. The only reason they are popular is they got a ton of press. I really hope Apple destroys that junk Spotify.
That’s ALL I care about is curation! I HATE Spotify and absolutely love Beats, Slacker, and Songza. Curation is what people want.
Apple Pay is cool, but you’re not missing anything not having iTunes Radio.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-06/apple-said-under-u-s-scrutiny-over-deals-for-new-beats
I agree. I curate my own playlists. I prefer Spotify because it’s free. (Although I also like the social aspect.)
I’m wondering if Beats gets rolled into iTunes, or if it stays a separate thing, or what. iTunes (the app on my Mac) is awful. It’s a navigational disaster that looks like it was designed by committee. I’d like to see it redone completely. I’d like to see things consolidated. i’d like to see Apple gift cards replace iTunes gift cards, and would work in iTunes, when buying books, when on apple.com, when in an Apple store. I don’t understand why my books are in iBooks and my music is in iTunes and my TV shows are in iTunes. And my audio books are in iTunes. So everything but books are in iTunes? No, my Mac Apps are in the App Store, which is a different App Store than the iOS App Store. I redeem a iTunes gift card but can’t spend it in iBooks, unless I want the audio book version. My head hurts. I might have botched some of these details. I need John Siracusa to figure all of this out for me. Where does streaming fit into all of this? Will it get crammed into the already bulging iTunes junk drawer Mac app? Despite all of this, I’m all over any streaming solution from Apple, as long as it gives me the same value (or more) for my money that Spotify currently does.
First, how the number of links matter when it all originated from The Verge?
Second, I’m not native English speaker. I’d like to see you try speaking my language. Let see how your grammar is better.
Third, I didn’t say macrumors is reputable. Just show a conflicting report. Both aren’t be reliable. so don’t quote them at all. How about that?
Oh, and btw, Bloomberg also ain’t that reliable when it comes to Apple.
It may have originated from the Verge, but Bloomberg’s report seems to be independent of the Verge’s report. And I only cited Bloomberg directly to show that MacRumors evidently misquoted them.
Also, please understand I’m not trying to criticize your grammar. I just didn’t appreciate what I took as a veiled insult (with the “IQ drop” reference) when it wasn’t even an accurate statement.
“I redeem a iTunes gift card but can’t spend it in iBooks, unless I want the audio book version”
Not true. I use iTunes GC buying books from iBook Store all the time.
The “IQ drop” didn’t direct at you. I just talk in general. I’m sure that you read more sources than the Verge alone.
I think Spotify is popular because it has a free tier. Similarly, I think Beats’ service is less popular because it doesn’t.
Yes, I did. I even posted another one (from 9to5Mac) in the same post where I posted the Verge one. I only included it because they broke the story. That’s why your statement never made any sense from the beginning.
I put a $15 iTunes gift card into the iTunes store, which shows me $15 credit. I go to the iBook store and log in and I don’t see the credit. Is it there, but I can’t see it? Or can you only choose between one store or the other?
on iphone, on Featured tab in iBook (the one with star icon), go to the bottom. There you will see your Apple ID and your credit, Likewise for iPad. On Mac it’s on the right side.
I’m in iBooks and I click on “iBooks Store.” I see my Apple ID just under the carousel on the right side and click on it. It asks me to log in and I do. I click on Account and I see my info but nothing about my $15. It’s not on the main screen next to my name, it’s not under any of the links. I see where I can enter a new card (the Redeem link) but the card I redeemed in iTunes does not have any value or credit here in the iBooks store. Or if it does, there’s no indication that it does. On my iPhone in the iBooks store I scroll to the bottom and see my Apple ID but no $15 credit. You’re saying it’s supposed to be there? Hmm. Should I put in a support ticket, then? Maybe my account is somehow gooched.
Are you sure you’re using the same Apple ID you put your GC in? If it’s the same ID, on iPhone you should be able to see your credit under your ID. If you are sure and you didn’t see the credit then you should contact Apple Support immediately.
I just went in and double-checked. It’s the same one. I’ll put in a support request – thanks for the info! I still think the iTunes app kinda sucks. 🙂