'Beats Music' Updated With In-App Subscriptions, Offline Mode and More

MacRumors · Apr 18, 2014

Beats has updated its Beats Music streaming music app with in-app subscriptions, Facebook friend search, an offline mode and more. The move allows users to subscribe to the Beats Music service via their iTunes account.

What's New in Version 1.0.7
You asked for it, and we listened! Some highlights in this release include:

- In-app subscription and account management via your iTunes account
- Find Your Friends -- find and follow your Facebook friends on Beats Music
- Improved Facebook and Twitter account management
- Thousands of new tracks available in The Sentence
- Artist Offers -- discover new content and merchandise from your favorite artists
- Offline Mode & Downloading improvements
- Music Player performance fixes

Previously, users had to subscribe to Beat Music on the service's website, allowing Beats to bypass Apple's 70 / 30 split with developers, which would result in the Cupertino company netting $3 a month from Beats Music's $10-a-month fee for every subscriber Beats adds within the app.

Beats CEO Ian Rogers tells Re/code that the company made its decision to add in-app subscriptions, and therefore submit to the 70 / 30 split, when it found that more than half of its users used iPhones, making it difficult to get an iOS user to subscribe with no in-app subscription option.

Other music streaming services like Rdio and Rhapsody also sell subscriptions in-app, although Rdio's in-app subscription price was raised from $10 a month to $15 a month to make up for Apple's cut. Spotify, however, does not offer in-app subscriptions, though it does offer a free, ad-supported mode available in its app.

Beats Music is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: 'Beats Music' Updated With In-App Subscriptions, Offline Mode and More

sniffies · Apr 18, 2014

Spotify rules them all (so far).

Aluminum213 · Apr 18, 2014

Still no iPad app, Beats music has a long way to go to catch up to spotify

The new spotify revision on the iPhone is fantastic, once they update their iPad app it's game over

tasset · Apr 18, 2014

So why, or how, can Beats afford to offer the in-app price the same as their regular subscription and Spotify does not at all and Rdio is $14.99?
I prefer Spotify but I really would like managing my sub within iTunes (yes I know Apple will take a cut).

Frankied22 · Apr 18, 2014

tasset said:
So why, or how, can Beats afford to offer the in-app price the same as their regular subscription and Spotify does not at all and Rdio is $14.99?

I prefer Spotify but I really would prefer managing my sub within iTunes (yes I know Apple will take a cut).

Rdio is $9.99 and $4.99 for students.

tasset · Apr 18, 2014

Frankied22 said:
Rdio is $9.99 and $4.99 for students.

Hooray! But you didn't answer my question.

Semester · Apr 18, 2014

For Apple this is truly great news. After Microsoft Office this is the second major service in à short while that has in-app subscriptions. Previously My experience is that only smaller names have done this. If this becomes an established way for big name services, it child mean a not insignificant boost to iTunes revenue, especially in a long term view.

Bryanw3535 · Apr 18, 2014

I've been a Beats Music user from the start, and they had an offline mode before this update.

I think what you're reading in their update notes is improvements to the Offline Mode.

Uofmtiger · Apr 18, 2014

I am still using MOG and would rather see Beats implement the artist radio slider and one place to see new releases rather than having to work through genres.

Right now, I am trying out a free month of Spotify, too. I prefer MOG, but I am sure that won't be a choice for much longer. The main upside to Spotify is the desktop app and iPad app, so I may move to them if the radio slider/artist radio doesn't make a comeback on Beats. If Spotify adds Connect to their desktop app, that would be a great feature.

Orlandoech · Apr 18, 2014

Lol at Beats and their inferior, overpriced, overhyped, over marketed products.

I absolutely love Dr Dre but beats are a joke. Headphones. Apps. Music boxes. Etc. all pure crap. It's like saying Bose is the benchmark for great audio. Eh oh el.

iDuel · Apr 18, 2014

Only if Spotify would allow subscriptions through in-app purchases...

Technarchy · Apr 18, 2014

PBF said:
Spotify rules them all (so far).

Catalog is bigger and better on Google play music. I've had both and Google really is better in terms of content.

malnar · Apr 19, 2014

PBF said:
Spotify rules them all (so far).

No, actually it doesn't. Spotify's pretty bad. The most minimal of organization within the app kills it for me. It's unusable in its current form, even after the "Your Music" upgrade. I decided to give Spotify another try when that was announced. Still sucks. Still no album listings under artists?! Just a big long list of songs?! Spotify doesn't get music. It's pretty clear this is something driven by a corporation and not music lovers. It's why Rdio and Beats Music are such better experiences. The only things going for Spotify are that it was one of the very first, and that it has a couple of exclusives like Led Zeppelin and Metallica.

winston1236 · Apr 19, 2014

PBF said:
Spotify rules them all (so far).

Agreed, beats is down there with Samsungs milk service

----------

malnar said:
No, actually it doesn't. Spotify's pretty bad. The most minimal of organization within the app kills it for me. It's unusable in its current form, even after the "Your Music" upgrade. I decided to give Spotify another try when that was announced. Still sucks. Still no album listings under artists?! Just a big long list of songs?! Spotify doesn't get music. It's pretty clear this is something driven by a corporation and not music lovers. It's why Rdio and Beats Music are such better experiences. The only things going for Spotify are that it was one of the very first, and that it has a couple of exclusives like Led Zeppelin and Metallica.

There has always been album listings. You just don't know how to use it I guess.

\-V-/ · Apr 19, 2014

winston1236 said:
There has always been album listings. You just don't know how to use it I guess.

I think that's only available for the subscriber version. The free version is rather limited. I haven't used the free version in ages so I don't remember. But yeah ... album listings have been available for a very long time.

johannnn · Apr 19, 2014

malnar said:
. The only things going for Spotify are that it was one of the very first, and that it has a couple of exclusives like Led Zeppelin and Metallica.

As an European, another plus is that I can actually use it. Beats is unavailable here.

Uofmtiger · Apr 19, 2014

winston1236 said:
Agreed, beats is down there with Samsungs milk service

----------

There has always been album listings. You just don't know how to use it I guess.

They list them, but you have to go through a large photo of the artist, "shuffle play", "popular songs", "related artists", and tour dates first... In other words, albums starts on the third page when you scroll up. MOG lists everything (albums, songs, playlists, similar artists, artist radio, and add to favorites) on page one. I prefer MOG's approach, but I am not sure anyone else is making it so easy to get to albums from an artist. Also, once I get to albums, I can easily list them alphabetical, release date, or by popularity. It is perfect for someone that uses this service to listen to albums.

I still have to check out Google again, but I understand the complaints about the Spotify layout. I have tried Beats and the layout, for the way I listen, is better than Spotify.

Spotify was no where near the first to offer the service in the USA. They took the market by storm with an unmatched marketing campaign that was based on social media. Rhapsody and others had a several year head start.

macUser2007 · Apr 19, 2014

PBF said:
Spotify rules them all (so far).

Nope, not really.

MOG, which was acquired by Beats had the best selection (IMO) and consistently the best sound quality. Spotify seems to have the most covers....

Still not sure how Beats compares to MOG, though.

Wide opeN · Apr 19, 2014

PBF said:
Spotify rules them all (so far).

Wrong, I had Spotify, and it can't hold a candle to this app.

The music IQ on this app is higher than Spotify could ever WISH for.

Plus with a family share option, and carrier billing it's a NO BRAINER!!!

SPUY767 · Apr 19, 2014

tasset said:
So why, or how, can Beats afford to offer the in-app price the same as their regular subscription and Spotify does not at all and Rdio is $14.99?
I prefer Spotify but I really would like managing my sub within iTunes (yes I know Apple will take a cut).

Because they have extra money from charging 300$ for headphones that ought to cost 25$?

Uofmtiger · Apr 19, 2014

SPUY767 said:
Because they have extra money from charging 300$ for headphones that ought to cost 25$?

I think there is some truth to this. Having a larger company with more revenue streams probably provides more flexibility while getting their service off the ground. Also, teaming with AT&T couldn't hurt.

malnar · Apr 20, 2014

winston1236 said:
Agreed, beats is down there with Samsungs milk service

----------

There has always been album listings. You just don't know how to use it I guess.

Nope, I've got it open in front of me right now. Subscribed, by the way, to the full $9.99 rate. I go into Your Music, go to Artists, scroll to something I want, let's say Led Zeppelin. I have 6 LZ albums saved to my iPhone. I go into their section and what do I find? I seemingly endless list of songs. No albums. I have to go into Your Music>Albums for albums to show up, but then they're not listed by artists but alphabetically. So if I've downloaded Led Zeppelin's III and Physical Graffiti as well as Metallica's Master Of Puppets, the listing goes

Led Zeppelin III
Master of Puppets
Physical Graffiti

Not

Led Zeppelin III
Physical Graffiti
Master of Puppets

Which would be fine... IF it did that in the Artists view. But it doesn't. Spotify has NEVER understood this.

I would love for all the Beats naysayers to actually explain what is wrong with it. I've been using it since day 1 and it's been a better experience than any of the other services. It had a few rough weeks right at the start where some issues popped up, but they took care of them right away. I even contacted their customer service and they were right on top of things. Sound quality is, just like MOG before it, excellent, and its recommendations are pretty sharp. The app is well organized and easy to use. I have few complaints, and they're the same complaints I had about MOG, which is that they're missing a handful of vital albums from artists I care about - but luckily I own those anyway (I just like to have them all available in the same place).

Ajones330 · Apr 20, 2014

I like the Beats App, just need more artist. They have come out with updates that really improved it because initially my phone would get really hot and was afraid I would damage it...

Wide opeN · Apr 20, 2014

You can tell that Beats was made my people that actually understand Music.

And how is the family share feature being so overlooked!? On Spotify we would CONSTANTLY interrupt each other's sessions #, talk about maddening!?

I'd give it a year or so, and Spotify will go the way of Rhapsody,Netscape, etc...

HurtinMinorKey · Apr 20, 2014

"Beats CEO Ian Rogers tells Re/code that the company made its decision to add in-app subscriptions, and therefore submit to the 70 / 30 split, when it found that more than half of its users used iPhones, making it difficult to get an iOS user to subscribe*with no in-app subscription option."

Really? It took you till now to figure that out? That bodes real well for the future of Beats..lol.

'Beats Music' Updated With In-App Subscriptions, Offline Mode and More

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