Trending news this week that had music fans raving was the big release of Apple Music, the brand new streaming service by the mega company that will apparently revolutionise the way we listen to and download our favourite artists. Packed with exclusives and cool new features, will it stand the test of its free three month subscription, or be just another drop in the digital ocean?
On first look, the new app has everything you’d expect from a streaming service, plus a little bit extra. Features include, recommended playlists based on your music taste, the ability to freely add songs to your personal library as well as a quasi- social media platform that allows you to “connect” with your favourite band or artist and view exclusive material. There’s also a specially curated radio station, the seriously hyped “Beats 1” which airs continuously and globally, presented by the likes of Zane Lowe and St Vincent.
Seems pretty good right? However this innovation runs kind of close to what major competitors Spotify and Deezer are also offering just without the ads, that beg the question, will the Apple Music novelty wear off after the three months (or less) are over? Time will obviously tell. Saying that, the myriad of worldwide Apple users will need to have a bit of an explore into all its juicy parts before we can fully gauge its success.
Design wise, the Genius team have delivered, with handy tabs and colourful backdrops that will easily appeal to music lovers and superfans alike, plus album artworks now appear more HD than ever. To achieve ultimate domination, Apple will need to go deeper with its features, paying close attention to its “Connect” section, ensuring the exclusive content remains a go to point, as well maintaining the flagship “Beats 1” station, in future perhaps allowing users a listening on demand experience.
Overall, the newest music platform of this generation is definitely worth a spin. For some it may take a while to work around but so far it seems the tech giants have made an ample and creative offering to the music streaming landscape of today.