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Apple Urging Music Labels to Stop Licensing Free Songs on Spotify and YouTube
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I call BS on this.
Apple, with it's own free music platform (iTunes Radio) is pressuring the industry to end free music on Spotify et al?
Fact of the matter is that Apple views free music as a discovery platform and not an enemy of paid subscription.
Apple, with it's own free music platform (iTunes Radio) is pressuring the industry to end free music on Spotify et al?
Fact of the matter is that Apple views free music as a discovery platform and not an enemy of paid subscription.
Pretty much exclusively stupid comments here.
Some facts:
Ad-based music offerings devalue music, are not sustainable. Tying an entire industry to the whims of the internet advertising market isn't doing anyone a favor.
Apple has paid more to labels/artists in the last quarter than the entire subscription based industry life to date.
Subscription based music offerings have resulted in massively lower music sales without the revenue to replace what was lost.
Not facts, but true:
Ad-based services suck. Junked up interfaces, click here for pepsi, etc. No one wants that crap. The only people who use subscription music services and don't pay are those who can't pay - trying to shake a few cents out of that audience is not a thing Apple does.
Apple appears to be attempting to reshape the streaming market into one where a premium, exclusively subscription-based offering can exist. I don't see how this is a bad thing, seeing as we all like high quality things here.
Make a free Spotify account, login to Spotify Desktop with no subscription and tell me that is a high quality service...
Some facts:
Ad-based music offerings devalue music, are not sustainable. Tying an entire industry to the whims of the internet advertising market isn't doing anyone a favor.
Apple has paid more to labels/artists in the last quarter than the entire subscription based industry life to date.
Subscription based music offerings have resulted in massively lower music sales without the revenue to replace what was lost.
Not facts, but true:
Ad-based services suck. Junked up interfaces, click here for pepsi, etc. No one wants that crap. The only people who use subscription music services and don't pay are those who can't pay - trying to shake a few cents out of that audience is not a thing Apple does.
Apple appears to be attempting to reshape the streaming market into one where a premium, exclusively subscription-based offering can exist. I don't see how this is a bad thing, seeing as we all like high quality things here.
Make a free Spotify account, login to Spotify Desktop with no subscription and tell me that is a high quality service...
From what I saw, Internet is more expensive in the US than in Europe. I have 1 Gb in theory and 200 Mb for real on my fiber access for 37/month, including phone and TV, with unlimited data. And I have 20 GB with 4G on my phone plan for 16/month. I don't think it's cheaper in the US and 20 GB is plenty enough for music streaming (and some Netflix too).
Plus some of us have underground subways to deal with aka no signal
Most streaming services have an offline mode where the music is downloaded on the phone. You only have to be online once a month or so to keep it working.
I certainly hope Apple offers an offline mode too, otherwise its service will face in Europe where a lot of people use the subway.
Spotify free should end. The amount they pay out is ridiculous because people love to be cheapskates and want everything for free. Music streaming services should be like Netflix, pay or nothing. If people are perfectly fine paying for Netflix and not having a free tier, why must we allow it in music?
Actually that's relatively new fashioned. Originally all music was only heard live, and then only heard through free ad supported radio.
You do realize music (and movies) are licensed, not owned right? So really, you don't own anything ever other then the piece of physical material that is the CD or DVD itself but never the content.
Really pissed off right now. I love Spotify and if 
will pull crap like this, I will NEVER EVER even consider switching to Beats.
will pull crap like this, I will NEVER EVER even consider switching to Beats. 
There's an irony to the idea that there's ad-supported music and an ad-free subscription model. This is how cable TV began. If you paid a monthly fee, it was promised that you wouldn't have ads. We all know how long that lasted. The lure of additional income is too great for big businesses. If the streaming services get rid of their "free" model, we'll all end up paying for the music plus we'll be forced into listening to ads as well.
Apple, just create a service that's head and shoulders above the alternatives so that people with Apple hardware will want to use it by default instead of getting it for free. iTunes was the epitome of that for me a decade ago.
iTunes completely put an end to music piracy for me 10 years ago because I could have access to tons of vetted content in one place and, more importantly, I could get just the music I wanted without having to buy a CD full of things I didn't want.
iTunes completely put an end to music piracy for me 10 years ago because I could have access to tons of vetted content in one place and, more importantly, I could get just the music I wanted without having to buy a CD full of things I didn't want.
You are SO absolutely delusional. You never own anything. Streaming makes much, much, MUCH more sense.
Yeah and maybe you could think this article isn't true for once. Lord knows this forum believes anything negative about Apple.
Think about it. When has Apple ever attempted to pre-kill it's competitors in order to monopolize business? That's Microsoft and Samsung, not Apple. Come on man.
Assuming the report is true that would be a b**** move from Apple.
Apple needs to understand there is competition now and they have to compete by offering more not be forcing others to offer less.
Apple needs to understand there is competition now and they have to compete by offering more not be forcing others to offer less.
Not true. Tidal has no free tier and no ads. Same with Rdio, and also Netflix.
Spotify needs to have ads because they are the biggest player and they know that without free they would not dominate market share as much.
Excellent! That way we as consumers will begin to get crappy products from Apple since their money was snatched from them. Or we get better products the price will go up. Some of you guys, Oy Vey.
Let's not pull out the "Steve would have never allowed X". He wasn't a saint. This is business.