Apple Watch + Music
We’ve reported extensively on what Apple has in store for its new revamped music service that will come alongside an international expansion of iTunes Radio, and today reports from Russian publication Vedomosti (via Billboard) hint that Russia will be one market Apple is aiming to launch in soon…
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Update: We’ve gotten word from a Spotify spokesperson that the Free model isn’t going anywhere. Director of Communications at Spotify Graham James told me “This is totally false. Our model is working.”
Digital Music News is claiming that Spotify is coming under pressure from music labels to end its free, ad-supported service, limiting users to a three-month free trial.
The three-month ‘proposal,’ advanced most principally by major labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, would allow current, free-access, ad-supported (or ‘freemium’) subscribers to continue their plans for 6 months, while new users would be limited to three months only.
Coincidentally or not, Universal Music Group is one of the labels specifically mentioned in two investigations into whether Apple is attempting to stifle competition in the run up to launching its own streaming music service …
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Apple’s planned rebranding and relaunch of the Beats streaming music service has not had the easiest of rides. The launch, initially planned for earlier this year, was delayed by the departure of key execs and difficulties integrating Beats and Apple technologies. A planned $5/month price-point had to be abandoned in favor of an attempt at $7.99/month when music labels wouldn’t play ball, and that too now looks increasingly unlikely even though Google Play offered initial All Access Signups for a $7.99 locked in. And any plans to offer artist exclusives as an inducement now face competition from newly-relaunched Tidal.
Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any tougher, London’s Financial Times reports that the European Commission is considering launching an antitrust investigation into the service, even before it launches. The Commission has contacted several music labels to ask what deals have been done with Apple, says the FT.
The commission, which also has contacted Apple’s music-streaming rivals, is said to be concerned that the company will use its size, relationships and influence to persuade labels to abandon free, ad-supported services such as Spotify, which depend on licenses with music companies for their catalogues.
The newspaper implies that the investigation may have been triggered by a formal complaint by an existing streaming music service …
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Apple appears set to abandon its plans to offer the rebranded Beats streaming music service for less than the $9.99/month charged by Spotify, Rdio and Google Play Music. Billboard reports that Apple’s attempts to use its clout to negotiate better deals with record labels have been unsuccessful.
Negotiations for Apple’s upcoming subscription service are evidence labels are standing firm on pricing. Industry sources say Apple has backed down from its effort to lower monthly pricing for its subscription service to $7.99 from $9.99.
The report says that the deals offered by the labels would have left Apple losing money if it had gone ahead with its plan to offer the service for the rumored $7.99/month …
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[tweet https://twitter.com/Drake/status/566085353400852480/]
Canadian rapper Drake has released an unexpected new mixtape album on iTunes, announcing it on Twitter as it went live. The album, entitled If you’re reading this it’s too late, was added to iTunes shortly before midnight ET …
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We may get to see the two-hour video of Steve Jobs giving pre-trial evidence in the iPod antitrust case, if the judge approves a motion jointly filed by AP, Bloomberg and CNN to make it public. CNET reported:
“Given the substantial public interest in the rare posthumous appearance of Steve Jobs in this trial, there simply is no interest that justifies restricting the public’s access to his video deposition,” attorney Thomas Burke, who is representing all three media organizations, wrote in the filing Monday
The video currently has the same status of live testimony given in the case, meaning that it can be reported on but the video cannot be broadcast …
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Streaming music service Rdio has reduced the price of its family membership plans to match the deal Spotify announced last month of half-price subscriptions for additional family members. This means the first member pays the standard $10/month fee while up to four extra family members get their own account for $5/month.
Rdio has offered family memberships for several years now, but this price reduction brings the service into line with Spotify. As with Spotify, each family member gets their own playlists, keeping things tidy – especially now that you can listen to Rdio in your car thanks to CarPlay support.
With our Family Plan, say goodbye to having only one person being able to listen at a time — or having to share favorites and playlists that aren’t really your own. And say goodbye to friends wondering why “you” are listening to your kid’s music that’s overcrowding the Home feed.
Interestingly, $5/month is rumored to be Apple’s target price when it relaunches Beats Music under its own branding. The company has reportedly been asking record labels to reduce the fees they charge for music streaming to make the deal possible. It has been suggested that the relaunch may take place in February.
Apple has been under pressure to launch a true on-demand music streaming service in addition to iTunes Radio as the money continues to move from downloads to streaming.
The figures are in and they confirm that iTunes remains the biggest US digital music retailer, with Amazon failing to grab too much of Apple’s digital music heartland.
NPD tells us AAPL’s iTunes took 66.2% of the digital music market in the third quarter of this year – that’s up from 63.2% in Q3 2009. Easy still beats free.
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Google is about to change the music economy, preparing to hand over huge amounts of cash to win rights to offer the music locker service it has been trying to build for Google Music. However, confused internal politics and music licensing complexity mean Google, just like Spotify and Apple, isn’t set to launch its service before the end of the year.
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