When Apple launches its Apple Music streaming service at the end of June, it will affect things big and small in the music industry.
Hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users in more than 100 countries will get to try the $10-per-month service for free for the next three months when it is pushed to their devices with a free upgrade.
They’ll get unlimited access to tens of millions of songs during the trial and afterward be required to pay a monthly fee for access, instead of paying for each album or song download.
“It’ll change the way you experience music forever,” CEO Tim Cook said last week at Apple’s annual conference for software developers, held in San Francisco.
Here’s a look at some of the major aspects of Apple Music.
Siri integration: Subscribers will be able to ask Siri, Apple’s mobile digital assistant, questions about music and have any of millions of tunes play back in response.
Executive Eddy Cue demonstrated a few of them last week, including asking for a playlist of the top 10 hits in the alternative genre, asking for a song from the soundtrack of the movie “Selma,” and even asking for the top song from May 1982. (It was Joan Jett & the Blackheart’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.”)
Radio over the Internet: Internet radio has been defined by automated playlist generators like Pandora, Songza and others. Apple is changing that game by bringing back living, breathing DJs. The service will be free to users with an Apple ID.
It will also offer standard genre-based Internet radio stations, this time with playlists curated by humans, instead of the algorithms that power the soon-to-be-disappearing feature, iTunes Radio.
Connect: Apple is opening a platform for artists that allows them to release content to fans such as lyrics to an upcoming song, behind-the-scenes video, or new tracks. Any user can access “Connect” through a tab on the Apple Music app and can follow artists and access their feeds. Only subscribers will be able to view, save and like the content.
Apple music vs. my music vs. Beats music: Apple device users who have bought songs or albums on iTunes needn’t worry. Their music will still be on their devices, and in many cases, saved to the cloud.
Music that isn’t available for streaming but is still for sale on iTunes, like songs from the Beatles, can be integrated into playlists.
The approximately 300,000 subscribers to Beats Music, which Apple bought along with the headphone line for $3 billion last year, will have the opportunity to transfer their playlists to Apple Music, at which point, their Beats subscription will be canceled.
Recommendations: Apple touts its human curation so much, it’s making you pay for it. A new “For You” tab will offer music suggestions to subscribers based on artists and genres they say they like, as well as what they actually listen to.
Can Apple come from behind? Industry analysts expect Apple’s biggest advantages — its huge user base, ability to sell its services with attractive TV ads, and global reach — will get the service up and running successfully.
Russ Crupnick, managing partner of research firm Music Watch Inc., said he’s not sure whether Apple has come up with the right package of services to make paid music streaming at $10 a month take off.
“You’ve got to really change the mindset of consumers to have them say, ‘Wow, this makes it worth the money,’ ” Crupnick said. “I still think you’ll have a lot of people who will say, ‘No thanks. There are a lot of places where I can listen to music, thank you very much.’ “
