Apple has indeed taken up its beats acquisition pretty smartly, to come out with, what the Cupertino giant is touting as the next big revolution in digital music streaming, Apple Music. And yes, as the title mentions, you will find a mixture of Beats and Apple’s own iTunes in the new, revamped Apple Music
Jimmy Lovine, formerly of Beats audio, now part of the Apple team, stepped up on the stage to introduce Apple’s latest innovation in music to us. He started off by explaining how buying music was a chore in the first decade of the 21st century and mentions meeting Steve Jobs who showed him a simple, yet fantastic way of buying music, iTunes.
Lovine says Apple could help move culture the same way that art moves culture.
He then goes on about how music has, yet again, become fragmented and how the problems have returned. Keeping this in mind, Lovine wanted Apple to build a bigger and more elegant ecosystem. And that’s how Apple Music was born.
Apple Music allows you to stream music anytime on demand. Artist pages, news, 24-hour worldwide radio station Beats One broadcasting from NYC are also additions to this new iteration of music. Another new innovation is Connect, where artists can share with fans like never before.
Curated playlists, by a team of experts, designed specially to fit your likes are also a highlight of Apple Music.
The UI has also gotten a revamp, with a more solid look to the album art and little final touches here and there. You can find a mini music player at the bottom of your screens, and even though this isn;t something really new, Eddy Cue’s forced attention to the same made sure that we notice it, and hence mention it.
You can now tell Apple what kind of music you like to get a hand-picked collection of songs you could buy and cherish. You can also search for music in ways you could never have done it before, for instance, through movie names.
In essence, Apple Music merges music, streaming, radio and social aspects all into one package.
It also gives unsigned and new artists a chance to showcase their talents. So, to conclude, this is in fact, a great leap for the music industry.
As for availability, Starting on June 30, music fans around the world are invited to a 3-month free membership, after which a $9.99/month subscription fee will apply. There will also be a family plan providing service for up to six family members available for just $14.99/month.
At the end of the trial period, the membership will automatically renew and payment method will be charged on a monthly basis until auto-renewal is turned off in account settings. Family plan requires iCloud Family Sharing.
And yes, there is an Android Version too ! However, it is set to come this fall.
