Apple is set to finally unveil its long-awaited music streaming service at WWDC on Monday, June 8.
The service has been rumored ever since Apple bought Beats Music for a whopping $3 billion in 2014. But what exactly should we expect to see from the service? And is Apple too late to the game?
Most suggest that the new service debuting at the company's developers conference in San Francisco will be somewhat of a mashup between Beats Music and Apple's current music app. The service will reportedly cost around $9.99 per month, although Apple will be offering some features for free to entice potential customers to join the service.
It's important to note that the service will not be a Spotify copy, but will offer a number of features to people who already own Apple products. The integration between Apple's current music offerings and its new music streaming service will be one of the main reasons for users to sign up to the new service. Apple is known for making all of its products play nice together, and this new service will be no exception. It will be especially interesting to see how a user's current music library factors into the streaming service, if at all.
Now, many suggest that Apple is a little late to the game when it comes to streaming, and while that may be true, it's important to remember that this is Apple we're talking about. Millions upon millions of people own and regularly use Apple devices, and Apple will leverage this power in a way that the likes of Spotify and Pandora would never have been able to. In fact, most users will automatically have the ability to sign up to the service through a simple software update to all iPhones and iPads. Signing up to Apple Music will be far easier than signing up to any other service.
Not only that, but Apple also has plenty of cash to market its new streaming service. In fact, that cash could come in handy for more than just marketing. Services such as Spotify and Pandora are still trying to figure out how to make streaming profitable, while Apple, with all its money, would be able to keep its streaming service running essentially as long as it wants.
The streaming industry is complex, and one that is changing at all times. While a number of companies are struggling to figure out how to do streaming right, if anyone can do it, it's Apple. The company is, after all, no foreigner to shaking up the music industry.
