Apple Unveiling New Streaming Service Today

$10-per-month service hopes to attract 100M subscribers
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2015 10:46 AM CDT
Apple Unveiling New Streaming Service Today
Apple logos adorn the exterior of the Moscone West building on the first day of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco today.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Apple is about to make sound waves: The company that brought you iTunes is expected to announce a paid streaming service at its annual developers conference in San Francisco today, reports the AP. The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news, reports the subscription will cost $10 per month. Though most music sales happen via digital stores like iTunes, some 41 million people pay to stream music from outlets like Spotify. Apple plans to attract users with a three-month free trial, with ideally 100 million subscribers sticking around. Afterward, only a few songs will be available to stream for free. The paid service will also include curated playlists and suggestions from DJs and musicians—DJ Zane Lowe and Drake are rumored—reports TechCrunch.

Apple will eventually shift 303,000 users of Beats Music, which will be shut down, to the new service and advertise to iTunes users. However, as the average iTunes user spends $30 per year, it isn't clear how buyers will receive the $120-a-year service. The announcement comes as subscription revenue jumped 39% last year alone to $1.6 billion, while download sales slid 8% to $3.6 billion. TechCrunch reports the announcement might actually be good news for Tidal as it could promote the mainstream user-base concept. However, Apple may be interested in acquiring Tidal for its register of artists. Apple is also expected to unveil a streaming-video package for Apple TV, new features for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, upgrades to Apple Pay, and new tools for building apps on the Apple Watch. (More Apple stories.)

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