The Beats Music streaming and radio app has gotten a few changes that should make the experience better for consumers. Lately, users were forced to go through carrier billing to make payments, Beats now chose to support in-app subscription billing, and the only downside is that developers must give Apple 30 percent of the earnings.
It is likely that Beats allowed in-app subscription because the volume of subscribers the service was getting through carrier billing was not enough. The support for in-app billing could improve the amount of users who subscribe to the full service, but that is left to be seen.
The Beats Music app includes a service called "The Sentence", which is designed to shuffle music. This feature has been improved due to the addition of thousands of new songs. Furthermore, monthly subscriptions with the ability to play any music in the Beats catalog can now be had for $9.99. Obviously, due to Apple's 30 percent take, Beats is expected gain only $6.99 at the end of the day.
However, that should not be a problem if more users are subscribing to the service. A significant increase in volume should make the folks behind Beats very happy, but they have a long way to go and several competing platforms to overcome.
Other improvements to the Beats Music app, includes updates to make Offline music playback better than before, the ability to discover merchandise and new content from your favorite artists, improved music player performance and more.
What's New in Version 1.0.7
You asked for it, and we listened! Some highlights in this release include:
- In-app subscription and account management via your iTunes account
- Find Your Friends -- find and follow your Facebook friends on Beats Music
- Improved Facebook and Twitter account management
- Thousands of new tracks available in The Sentence
- Artist Offers -- discover new content and merchandise from your favorite artists
- Offline Mode & Downloading improvements
- Music Player performance fixes
Now that Beats is allowing in-app subscription, the music app might very well have a chance to stretch its legs.
