“When Apple Music launched at the end of June, some experts in the streaming music industry insisted that the world’s most valuable company wouldn’t win over listeners just because it was Apple. Spotify had already built up a sizable subscriber base, they said. As for Internet radio, Pandora and iHeartRadio had a serious head start,” Julia Greenberg reports for Wired. “About four months later, Apple hasn’t pulled out ahead. But it’s gaining. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently revealed that as the first Apple Music users come off their free three-month trial, the service now boasts more than 6.5 million subscribers who pay at least $10 a month to stream music [vs. Spotify’s 20 million paying users]. But it’s not a bad start.”
“And more to the point, Apple isn’t in a hurry. With a huge pile of cash and massive profits, Apple is under little pressure to show quick returns. As it turns out, the same advantages that give Apple so much power overall—its size, its resources, its visibility—give the company a serious edge in streaming music,” Greenberg reports. “Apple doesn’t have to win right away—which is why ultimately it will win.”
“Because of its size and strength, Apple might not even really see streaming music as the competition at all. ‘The real target of Apple Music is radio rather than recorded music streaming,’ writes Richard Windsor, an analyst at Edison Investment Research, in an email,” Greenberg reports. “‘Despite grabbing all the headlines, the recorded music industry is currently worth around $16 billion while radio advertising is worth around $44 billion per year,’ Windsor adds. If Apple ever decides to incorporate advertising into its radio offerings, it could grab a piece of that much bigger market.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Some “experts” were wrong.
SEE ALSO:
Apple Music takes a huge bite out of Pandora – October 23, 2015
Taylor Swift calls Spotify a ‘start-up with no cash flow’ – August 4, 2015
Oh ok, Spotify listeners are upgrading to Apple Music – July 19, 2015
Apple Music could kill more than just Spotify, it could kill music labels, too – June 25, 2015
Why Apple Music will gut and publicly execute Spotify – June 10, 2015
Spotify CEO claims to be ‘ok’ with Apple Music – June 9, 2015
Jimmy Iovine and Eddy Cue: Apple Music gunning for Spotify, YouTube, and terrestrial radio – June 9, 2015
Apple Music’s huge advantage over Spotify – June 9, 2015
Apple’s revolutionary Apple Music just might prove its skeptics wrong – June 8, 2015
Apple unveils revolutionary Apple Music service – June 8, 2015
Apple is going to put the hurt on Pandora – November 10, 2014
apply all the EGG analysis you want to AAPL’s music strategy, and adjust +- for BUN until the cows come home, and you still don’t arrive at a business model that includes ad-driven music.
If Apple didn’t get 50 million paid subscribers from day one, it is considered a failure even if it isn’t. It’s all about expectations for Apple and they don’t have to be reasonable expectations. I found nothing unacceptable with AppleMusic but I already have more music than I can listen to and don’t really need another source at the moment. I may subscribe during the winter months but I’ll have to wait and see. It’s cheaper than a six-pack of Heineken and lasts a whole month. What’s to really complain about.
It always has to be about who wins in market share which is so stupid. Everything in life shouldn’t be measured in those terms. Apple’s provides a pretty decent music streaming service and music selling service. Apple will continue to be profitable with those services. There’s no real pressure on Apple. They can take their time to refine their streaming services. Eventually movies and TV shows will be added and Apple will do financially well even if it’s not number one. As long as consumers are happy with those services that’s what really matters.
Apple Music has not won me.
Between all the sources of new music and great old stuff, Apple Music is lost. I have an Amazon Prime subscription, and their music app is acceptable. Still clunky, but still far better for music than Netflix is for navigating tv shows and movies.
The Apple people could have had me from the rollout if they had kept it under ten bucks a month. That is so small, I never give it a thought. At five bucks a month, I would have forgotten you have to pay for it. And I never would have quit the subscription.
The labels wouldn’t allow Apple to price it lower than that.