Apple Music Combines Streaming, Radio, Social Media For $10/Month

As expected, Apple has announced a new subscription music service intended to replace the Beats service it acquired when it purchased Beats Audio in 2014. Apple Music will be a combination streaming service, online radio station and social media platform for musicians.

Like a number of other streaming services, Apple Music allows you to pull together music you own and music from a subscription-accessed cloud library (or “libary,” as Apple’s Eddy Cue repeatedly pronounced it today), and create custom playlists.

The company claims that the recommended music you get uses a more sophisticated system than you’ll find elsewhere, but we have no idea if that’s true without anything more than Apple’s claim.

In terms of online radio, Apple is launching Beats1, a 24/7 radio station that will broadcast internationally with actual DJs, which the company says is a step up from the typical streaming radio station. Again, whether this proves true is to be seen when the service launches.

Then there’s the “Connect” feature which allows artists to not only share their music, but to post photos, demo recordings, and interact with fans.

Each of these three prongs of the Apple Music trident exist in various forms already, but the company is hoping that the combination of the three will be worth the subscription price.

The service will launch on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC on June 30, with Apple TV and Android phone support coming in the fall.

To lure users in, Apple Music will launch with 3-month free trial memberships before charging $9.99/month. For families with multiple users, Apple will sell a $14.99/month plan that gives you service for up to six users.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist