Apple Music Turns One Year Old With 15 Million Subscribers on Board and a Redesign on the Way

[HopefulHumanist]

I never bought music in my life and obtained it illegally.

I'm now a subscriber to Apple Music. It's worth it and I can finally say I support the artists.

This is the main benefit of streaming services. Gaining revenue from those that sources that were unavailable before. This is why streaming will end up being a net positive in the future. Artists and labels won't have to make all their money from devoted fans; they can also make money from casual listeners too. I know I certainly can't afford to buy all the music I listen to, so I buy what I can and stream the rest.

I'm so glad they're so focused on contuninug to improve the service. I like the For You section, Beats 1 and the continually updated playlists. I love Apple Music and it's only going to get better.

1 year old and already needs a re-design. Sign of a great success right?

I don't understand why that is a negative. Nothing is perfect and I like that they keep working to improve it. In my mind, it shows dedication and careful consideration of feedback. I think it'd be rather stubborn to ignore feedback and insist the design has no problems.

1 year old and already needs a re-design. Sign of a great success right?

I don't understand why that is a negative. Nothing is perfect and I like that they keep working to improve it. In my mind, it shows dedication and careful consideration of feedback. I think it'd be rather stubborn to ignore feedback and insist the design has no problems.

Funny how Apple continues to boast about the number of Apple Music subscribers BUT won't tell us how many watches they've sold.

Their stated reason is that their smart watch market is new and thus they don't want to give their competitors any advantages. If sales are strong and they report them, that could theoretically incentivize competitors to focus on smart watches, and that's not exactly good for Apple.
Streaming services, on the other hand, are not a new market and reporting stronger numbers could actually generate interest from potential customers.

 

[bpeeps]

Funny how Apple continues to boast about the number of Apple Music subscribers BUT won't tell us how many watches they've sold.

Honestly, I don't think anyone cares.

 

[douglasf13]

I believe that Apple Music and all streaming services are to the long-term detriment of music.

If musicians don't have an incentive to be rewarded, they won't write music. This is why music has been dead since the early 90s. There has been the odd gem, but that's all.

I’ll stick to CDs and downloads to my dying day.

.

Digital music has essentially created more of a music middle class, and we have more options than ever before. Sure, there are fewer multimillionaire musicians through album sales, but there are also far more artists able to get their music to people, so I think it's a change for the better. Touring is now where the money is.

 

[Julien]

Did anyone watch the MacRumors video on the Apple Music redesign. I was like ....What the Hockey sticks did I just see in the MacRumors video.

 

[FactVsOpinion]

Wondering about Beats One's future... Is anyone using it?

No, because it is almost entirely hip hop.

I don't dislike hip hop, I'm just not interested in a hip hop focused radio station.
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Yeah, streamlined like the Jobsian MobileMe for example.

Problem with mobileme was with bugs, sync issues, and downtime, not a lack of streamlined design.

 

[MellowFuzz]

Who cares? Apple has been treating its customers, pro or otherwise, with utter contempt, such that I'm actually, after more than a decade of fandom, shopping for a HP Spectre or Dell XPS 15.

Today marks the one year anniversary of Apple Music, which launched in 110 countries on June 30, 2015. The streaming music service was initially limited to the Mac and iOS devices, and it has since expanded to Apple TV and Android.

Apple's streaming music service, an evolution of the Beats Music service it acquired in 2014, has steadily gained listeners over the past twelve months, reaching over 15 million paying subscribers as of WWDC 2016 earlier this month.

Spotify still remains the world's most popular streaming music service, with roughly twice as many paying subscribers as Apple Music, but the Swedish rival has been available in Europe for nearly eight years and in the U.S. since 2011.

Assuming that Apple Music maintains its current pace of growth, it is reasonable to assume that it will eventually eclipse Spotify as the top streaming service worldwide, with Apple Music benefiting greatly from its prominent placement within a default app on iOS and a lengthy three-month free trial to get users hooked on the service.

Apple Music has received its share of criticism since launch, partly due to somewhat confusing layouts that can make it difficult to find content and easily manage downloaded or owned content versus streamed content. Apple's "Connect" social feature intended to allow artists to share content with fans also failed to take hold, with many quickly drawing comparisons to the ill-fated "Ping" social network that debuted as part of iTunes in 2010 but was officially canceled just two years later.

With iOS 10, Apple is undertaking a reinvention of the Apple Music experience on its mobile platform, completely revamping the app with new organization and a new design. The new design in particular has been controversial, with bold fonts standing in stark contrast to most of the rest of the operating system. But the new layout makes for a much more logical organization of content and features, with downloaded music receiving its own section and Connect receiving much less prominent placement.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

Apple is also pushing forward its relationships with artists for Apple Music, working hard to secure exclusive content as it seeks to follow the model of "MTV in its Eighties and Nineties heyday" in becoming the go-to place for artists and content.

Apple Music is clearly still in its early days, with Apple still evolving its integration of the Beats Music team and their streaming service into iTunes and the stock Apple user experience across all platforms. But with strong subscriber growth and industry trends pointing toward a continued shift toward streaming services, it's clear this is where Apple's content future lies, whether it be the current music service or future video services.

Article Link: Apple Music Turns One Year Old With 15 Million Subscribers on Board and a Redesign on the Way

 

[Carlanga]

If Apple Music continues this sort of growth Spotify will be gone within 3-5 years max. The smaller services will die off at about the same time. At some point this will become an Apple Google duopoly because they have the money to make it work.

Even though it might be more expensive for the consumer getting down to a couple of services should help Apple become more profitable in this market. Apple has enough money, resources and devices to take them all out except for Google. The quicker they can get it done the faster the money will roll in.

The only way that will happen is either android dies or apple makes their services available for all devices/oses

 

[crsh1976]

I won't switch, but I wish them well - had too much trouble finding a suitable service after Rdio shut down, Spotify is where I'm at right now (not in unshakeable love with it, but it's as good it got for me).

 

[a.gomez]

A web app? You mean you don't like the idea of people being able to use it offline?

No, like the Spotify WebPlayer so I do not need to install an application on my computer to listen to music - If my internet goes down at work (or home) I have a much bigger problem on my hands over not being able to listen to music offline. They never update iTunes at work and our Production Windows units do not have iTunes at all.

 

[Michael Goff]

No, like the Spotify WebPlayer so I do not need to install an application on my computer to listen to music - If my internet goes down at work (or home) I have a much bigger problem on my hands over not being able to listen to music offline. They never update iTunes at work and our Production Windows units do not have iTunes at all.

Obviously you don't have TWC if you think Internet outages are "a much bigger problem". Also, maybe you could grab a music player or use your phone at work.

 

[tonyr6]

Used Apple Music for a month again but went back to Play Music. The Android app is more stable but I have issues lately even on iTunes when some songs refuse to play just buffer forever. Also iTunes is a pig and the Android app kills my battery so it is back to Play Music. It is good that you are not forced to buy a yearly service and be stuck with it like it was with Pandora which sucked worse then Slacker.

 

[theatremusician]

Buy the music you habitually listen to, please. No judgements, just support the artists you want to see making music in the future. There is no way to make a living from streaming services and not all artists have the ability to tour.

 

[tonyr6]

Too me the music got terrible in the late 2000's (00's) of course that is when I turned 30.

 

[Shlooky]

I'm subscribed to the family pack for Apple Music and share it with my wife and kids.
Awesome deal and works perfectly.
Keep it up Apple!

 

[Jakexb]

I just switched from Apple Music to Spotify and holy ****, what a night and day difference. The exploration of new music is VASTLY better, and getting served new music every week that's curated for you is light years ahead of AM.

I had the opposite experience. Used Spotify for years and never found anything new that I liked. Every time I open Apple Music I find something good and new to listen to.

 

[Whimseh]

I already have a massive playlist of music, I still see no reason to switch to Apple music. I'm a little biased because I've had Spotify since before the U.S. public release.

Anyone care to tell me pros/cons vs. Spotify?

 

[aced411]

I just switched from Apple Music to Spotify and holy ****, what a night and day difference. The exploration of new music is VASTLY better, and getting served new music every week that's curated for you is light years ahead of AM.

Another fancy trick is, I can use any Spotify client to be a remote for another client. I used to AirPlay my music through an AirPort express to my Sony receiver (which skipped like crazy). After ditching the Airport Express because of higher ISP speeds, I just plug my old iPhone 5 into the receiver, fire up Spotify, then use my iPhone 6S to control what's playing on the 5. Yes, it really is THAT simple.

Oh and plus the upcoming AM redesign looks like they ripped the design straight from the pages of Entertainment Weekly.

I was happy to switch from Spotify when it first came out just to keep things simple, but holy crap it is so much worst when it comes to music discovery. I ran back to Spotify. The recommendations I got were laughable. It also surprises me that Apple just can't seem to get the UI right.

 

[Omega Mac]

I don't think I'll be upgrading for some time when iOS 10 arrives, because of the Apple music redesign and I've learned never to be that early early adopter too many times!

However I'm throughly enjoying Apple Music in an immensely say way. It's great to have access to such a huge catalogue of music. I'm listening to things i'd truly never have the time to find out. I've never used any of the streaming services before and in truth I see no reason why I would try another. I'm about a month into the trial. If it works then family sharing might be the deal sealer and if you get bored you can end it any month you like. No big deal.

I also have SONOS gear nearly two years now with an on/off relationship. So I haven't really gotten full use out of for various reason but with Apple Music compatibility, which I have yet to try. I'm actually really excited about that investment coming back to life.

 

[Small White Car]

I already have a massive playlist of music, I still see no reason to switch to Apple music. I'm a little biased because I've had Spotify since before the U.S. public release.

Anyone care to tell me pros/cons vs. Spotify?

Well, Spotify won't **** around with that massive playlist of files you already own. That's a plus in my book.

 

[aced411]

Who cares? Apple has been treating its customers, pro or otherwise, with utter contempt, such that I'm actually, after more than a decade of fandom, shopping for a HP Spectre or Dell XPS 15.

I've been thinking about a PC for the first time in years. I hadn't even considered HP before based on past experience but I like that the Spectre doesn't have a touchscreen. I wish you could get a high end XPS without a touchscreen.

 

[theyearof84]

Holy ****, computer algorithms that tell you to listen to the same crap other people listen too?



It's called the Remote App.



Spotify recently ripped Apple Music design, and nobody bitched about it.

1. Better recommendations and discovery on what you'd like. Do you enjoy listening to the same **** over and over again?

2. Do you not think I used the remote app while AirPlaying my music? LOL. You kids crack me up.

3. And yet, the design for the Spotify app looks and WORKS miles better than the upcoming Apple Music redesign.

Get your head out of your Apple apologist ass. Thanks.

 

[aaronvan]

Apple Music is a great service. No complaints besides the expected UI shortcomings.

 

[DNichter]

The fact that they redesigned just a year after the release doesn't give me a warm & fuzzy feeling about Apple (same with watchOS). It's like they forgot about keeping things simple/streamlined (ie. Scott Forstall/Steve Jobs).

I disagree. I like that they are willing to make changes to improve their software. They should always be working on improving the way we interact with our devices. Some smart people working there, I would sure hope so.

 

[Rigby]

The fact that they redesigned just a year after the release doesn't give me a warm & fuzzy feeling about Apple (same with watchOS). It's like they forgot about keeping things simple/streamlined (ie. Scott Forstall/Steve Jobs).

Not that I'm a fan of Apple Music (I dislike how it forces you to mix the subscription music with your own library), but I think we should cut Apple (and other companies) some slack when they come out with new products/services that they have no prior experience with. Just like the Apple Watch, they are obviously learning from how people actually use the product and adapting.

 

[JoEw]

Wondering about Beats One's future... Is anyone using it?

I hope it hangs around, I love watching the interviews that they have when artists come on, I rarely ever catch them live but I think it's going to become an increasingly central part of the music industry for new album releases and singles.