Apple Music app for Android likely to struggle without free ad-supported tier

“Apple’s new $10-a-month streaming music service has attracted 6.5 million paying subscribers thus far, out of some 11 million who started a free, three-month trial over the summer. And another 8.5 million are still in the free-trial phase,” Aaron Pressman reports for Yahoo News. “That’s a solid start for a product that’s late to the scene and runs on an app that’s gotten pretty poor reviews.”

“Spotify, the market leader, has 20 million paying subscribers among 75 million listeners (the company offers a free-with-ads tier that Apple has thus far avoided),” Pressman reports. “The question remains whether Cook and company can catch Spotify.”

“Apple has yet to roll out a promised Android version of the Apple Music app to tap a market which represents slightly over half of all U.S. smartphone users but about 80% worldwide,” Pressman reports. “Still, the Android market skews lower income and the lack of a free-with-ads offering may hurt Apple even more on Google’s platform.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Anything that costs actual money is going to struggle on Android, the platform of cheapskates and/or the greatly confused.

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24 Comments

      1. Apple use an app on the android side and added some additional function to migrate Android users to iOS. It created huge negative ratings and comments. Mostly, how awful the software was… the fact it was a well rated android app before.
        Now, “Apple” will release a music streaming app and I fully expect a backlash from the Android side with any negative comments instantly forwarded by the media.

        That is my prediction.

        1. “Well piss on them. They don’t deserve to have an Apple product. They’re probably too damn cheap to buy them anyway. They must hate having quality products.”

          I’ve been a Mac User since 1996, when I got my first Mac, an SE30, and I’m writing this on my 2008 MacBook Pro running Yosemite.

          On the table to my right, is my Samsung Galaxy SIII (same physical size as the iPhone, 6, btw). I got it $0 on a two year plan. My carrier has never offered iPhone “$0 on a two year plan.” I simply can’t afford it.

          So, because I have an Android phone, beside my trusty MBP, I “don’t deserve to have an Apple product.”?

          Until I can afford an iPhone, I am a Mac User, AND an Android user.

          Show a little respect.

  1. Both Apple Music and Spotify are great. I get why Android users would not flock to pay. But what happens if ‘free streaming’ disappears as an option for Spotify etc? I am sure both the music content sources and Apple would like that no?

  2. We deserve everything that you rich Apple users pay for but we should get it for FREE. We already self-identify as a bunch of losers by the fact that we got our phones for free with a BOGO promotion. Now we want Apple to start giving everything to us for FREE too. We are entitled.

  3. Google is almost completely ad-supported because it’s incapable of offering a product or service that anyone would willingly want to pay money for. So its main income source is mainly derived from promoting dick growth potions, people trafficking agencies and cures for baldness. This is what happens when you allow analists to inflate expectations well beyond the limits of cold hard reality.

  4. MDN’s comment – ‘Anything that costs actual money is going to struggle on Android, the platform of cheapskates and/or the greatly confused’

    Is spot on several of my android friends think just about everything should be free, except when I ask if they’d go to work for 40hr’s a week and not get paid they say ‘uh wait minute you mean I do not get paid?’

  5. It really doesn’t matter if Android users “flock” to Apple Music. It’s important that it is available, just iTunes was made available for Windows. It is one more foot in the door, crack in the ice, nose under the tent. Android users will try it. Plus their is a lot more to Apple Music than merely the paid features. There are Beats 1, Radio playlists and your on device music management. The reality is that Apple cannot not be there. It is just too large of a segment to ignore, and we’ve seen large numbers of Android users converting to iPhone. At least those in the demographics where Apple and Android intersect.

    1. Apple currently has one single app on the Google Play store – the android to iOS migration tool. Fandroids had made sure that it quickly becomes the lowest rated app, with the most vitriolic reviews.

      There is no doubt that any possible future Apple app, such as Apple Music, would see the same fate. Apple doesn’t need this, just for a few dozen paying Android users.

        1. When it is a utility to move form Android to iOS, thats one thing; those people have already decided to get the real thing. A music app is a completely different; it goes head-to-head with other similar apps in the Google Play store, and people who have no intention of abandoning the platform, but are looking for music subscription services may evaluate it based on the star rating and reviews.

          Probably the most important reason why Apple really doesn’t need this is that there would be very few people who would choose to pay. Android users would likely account for 95% of those on the 3-month trial period; while iOS users conversion rate looks to be close to 70%, with Android, it will likely end up below 10%. Apple doesn’t need a revolving bunch of freeloaders.

    2. Not so sure that Apple Music needs to be available on Android. Seems to me that Apple Music needs to focus on really good functionality and value on Apple devices. Why would Apple want to bite off the misery of trying to publish an Apple quality app for the Android platform? The “can they catch Spotify” question is very much a straw man. Make money offering services that sell more Apple hardware. That should be the focus.

  6. The reason why Android has so much market share is not necessarily because of “cheapskates” but because a lot of their customers simply cannot afford something more expensive. Be glad that Android is out there, too. It helps Apple to stay competitive!

    1. I am not so sure this true.
      Imagine Apple lowers its iPhone prices by $100. Maybe that would shave off 30% of their profits. However, Android phone makers would lose a much larger portion of their profits. They may even go in the red. They can’t really afford a price war.

  7. There are households that have Apple devices and various competitor offerings, so it makes sense for Apple to include Apple Music on the most popular platforms. Additionally, Apple’s family plan is less expensive than other music services. This means the service will gain further traction.

  8. I understand that this news article is about android users, their cheap ways, and the android Apple Music app, which I know nothing about…

    But I hate when news articles compare Spotify to Apple Music and cry “no free tier!!” Because on my iPhone, the free tier is that Radio tab. Hello. Free streaming radio. That thing they used to call iTunes Radio. It’s still there. It’s still free.

  9. My first post here, and I am met with insult. Looks like—not everyone—but looks like the trolls are resident here. There is so much vitriol here, vitriol that serves no purpose other than just insult and blatant disrespect.
    Why? Because I have an Android phone beside my MacBook.

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