The Apple streaming service, which Sony Music CEO Doug Morris announced yesterday that will be launched today at WWDC 2015, is set to have 100 million subscribers, a figure that is more than any existing streaming music businesses combined.
According to a source cited by The Associated Press, Apple is aiming to sign up a massive 100 million subscribers for its new streaming service, the Apple Music. Apple hopes to achieve this ambitious plan by combining its huge iPhone customer base and the existing subscribers of its newly acquired Beats, and by offering a three-month fee trial.
iPhone users can be enticed to sign up for this service by making it support game on streaming, another aspect of streaming business that Apple needs catching up. Apple recognizes now to be the right time.
The $10/month subscription charge which 9to5Mac had previously reported was also confirmed by the same source cited by AP. This means Apple is going for the industry standard price for streaming services which is $9.99. This new Apple music service is expected to feature loads of curation by popular DJ's and musicians.
Morris considered this partnership with Apple to be the start of something great for the streaming music service, as he expected that it would help accelerate this service. The CEO was clearly elated and positive that Apple will heavily promote it and its effect will reverberate on the streaming business.
Aside from being happy, Morris seemed to have the confidence too to announce the service a day before Apple's WWDC 2015. He may have felt to be in a position to pre-announced it considering that Apple needs Sony for this service. As pointed out in a Forbes news, "it would be folly for Apple to remove Sony from the music streaming service - the whole point of all you can listen to music subscriptions is that every album is there."
Apple has seen in recent years how "the digital music download business it pioneered more than a decade ago has slumped and consumers shifted to streaming music;" thus, Apple's change of heart in regard to download business.
The Apple streaming music service was first announced by Morris during an on-stage interview at the Midem Music Industry Festival in Cannes. "It's happening tomorrow," he said, referring to Apple's launch of its new streaming service.
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