Looks like Apple Music is looking to bag some more subscribers…
According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is ‘revamping’ its music streaming service after ‘mixed reviews.’ Though the news is not official, close sources have shared that the announcement will be officially revealed at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.
Apple Music launched in June last year, and since it entered the music streaming market there have a relatively high number of positive reviews, but also several criticisms regarding the service not meeting Apple’s highly ranked standards as a brand which upholds top-level quality.
The Apple brand is widely regarded as premium, and when Apple Music arrived there were a lot of people disappointed with the streaming platform. Most of the negative comments were about the interface and its lack of features. But, since launch Apple has worked tirelessly to better rival the major player in the streaming market, Spotify.
The reports however do not suggest that there will be any changes made to the features, but there will be an updated design that is more ‘bold’ and ‘simple’ for its users. Whether these changes will spark a surge in subscribers is unknown at this point, but it could result in more sign-ups especially if it’s more user-friendly.
Apple Music announced hitting 13 million subscribers just last week, which is a major milestone especially in the timeframe that they have achieved it. But, that still sets it far behind Spotify who has 30 million paying subscribers.
This is needed badly. Apple was built on being user-friendly and simple. They’ve gotten away from this with all the hidden tricks and features they’re incorporating into their iOS / software. People don’t have time to “figure it out,” especially if they don’t understand streaming in the first place, so make it easy for them.
Even if the Apple Music platform was branded slightly different (e.g. color change), it’d be a start to making the platform feel unique & let users know you’re not accessing your iPod, but rather you’re searching via Apple Music.
No streaming platform will be without it’s blemishes, but I can’t see myself converting from Spotify to Apple Music when the experience (in my opinion) is subpar.
They should have never launched Apple Music in this condition. Staying on the sidelines would have (1) given them time to create a superior offering thereby maximizing the splash upon release and (2) only built anticipation and mystery that much more. And they had, and still have, a download business to run, which could’ve been done in the meantime. The purchase of Beats, and the decision to make it the foundation of Apple Music, was a terrible mistake. The handwriting was on the wall for Beats just a few months after release – it was going nowhere. If they hadn’t dumped it on Apple, it would be completely buried by the other services at this point. The industry was really counting on Apple to do this right. Given their reach and resources, perhaps they eventually will.
Please don’t hate. Can’t we all just get along?