All Sections

Apple’s hoping artist exclusivity justifies Beats Music’s higher price tag

Apple has reportedly approached a number of artists, including Taylor Swift and Florence and the Machine, regarding exclusive streaming deals for its upcoming Beats Music service.

According to sources who don’t wish to be named, Apple has reached out to over a dozen artists with a view to getting them to sign on for the company’s as-yet unreleased Beats Music service, which is expected to go head-to-head with industry leader, Spotify, and Jay Z’s own upstart, Tidal.

Cupertino’s belief is that it will need some pretty amazing bait if it’s to draw in people who would usually not pay for music freely accessible elsewhere, via sites like YouTube or Spotify’s ad-driven service, and the company is trying to get some of the world’s favourite bands and singers to jump on the hook.

Taylor Swift, who famously withdrew her music from Spotify over the dissatisfying amounts of money she was reportedly receiving, has been approached already, as has Brit band Florence and the Machine, with a view to offering Apple exclusive streaming rights for content.

Apple acquired Beats Music from Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre in 2014, for an eye watering $3 billion and the company has been hard at work since, putting together a model which will monetize the acquisition, and the new streaming service, which will cost US listeners $9.99 a month for an individual membership or $14.99 for a family one, is the result of their endeavour.

Jay Z’s Tidal, which will take on both Spotify and Apple’s new service, recently debuted, offering users’ membership for $9.99 a month for standard content and a fairly hefty $19.99 for lossless audio and HD music videos.

Apple’s service is expected to launch in the US this summer.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *