Apple Inc on Monday launched Apple Music, a US$9.99-a-month streaming music service that might not differ dramatically from competitors, but comes with Apple’s deep music roots, global brand and hundreds of millions of iTunes customers.
Apple’s push into the streaming business is likely to alter the dynamics of how consumers listen to music, as the music industry grapples with declines in downloaded songs and tries to figure out new ways to get people to pay for music.
“The Apple brand speaks for itself and it will have an earthquake-like impact on the industry,” FBR Markets analyst Daniel Ives said.
“Given the gold standard brand, given Apple’s breadth and awareness, it’s more important what Apple is doing strategically than moving the needle financially,” Ives said.
The unveiling of the service, at the start of the week-long Worldwide Developers Conference, also included the announcement of an upgraded operating system for Apple’s watch that is to let developers create speedier “native” apps that rely less on the iPhone.
Apple said that “El Capitan” will be the name of the next version of OS X for its Macs.
It disclosed that the next version of the software that powers iPhones and iPads, called iOS 9, will come out this autumn and detailed the continued expansion of Apple Pay, which is to launch in the UK next month, supported by major banks and high-street retailers and the operator of the London Underground.
Apple Pay will be available in 250,000 locations across the UK when it is launched next month, making it more widely available than when it was first introduced in the US in October last year, the company said.
However, the music service was the star of the show. Apple introduced it with clips and live appearances by stars like Drake and up-and-comer The Weeknd. Legendary music industry figure Jimmy Iovine, who came to the company as part of its acquisition of Beats, took the stage to unveil details of the new service.
Apple’s music service is to enable artists to share songs directly with fans, include a global 24/7 radio station named Beats 1 and stream music from the entire iTunes catalog. Apple Music follows similar streaming services from Spotify Ltd, which streams music from record labels and media companies, Pandora Media Inc, a self-described personalized radio station and others.
Apple Music’s US$9.99-a-month price takes effect after a three-month free subscription period. The company is also offering what it calls a “family plan” for US$14.99 a month for up to six family members.
The company also unveiled new details about its Apple Pay service, saying it was already supported by more than 2,500 banks and is expected to surpass 1 million locations it next month.
In a related move, Apple said it would rename Passbook — its app for credit and debit cards and boarding passes — Wallet.
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS