The lost year of Beats Music and how that may not matter for Apple - CNET
Twelve years ago, with the launch of the iTunes music store, Apple changed how we purchase and listen to music. Apple is expected to debut a subscription streaming-music service, making it one of the central announcements at the company's annual developers conference next week in San Francisco. Consider it a reboot of the Beats Music streaming service it purchased last year. Apple shelled out $3 billion to buy headphones maker Beats -- by far its biggest acquisition ever -- and Beats Music, a fledgling subscription music service that gives members all-you-can-eat access to songs for $10 a month, was part of the package. Since the deal closed in August, Beats Music has been in a holding pattern while rivals like Spotify grow rapidly and newcomers, such as Jay Z's Tidal, enter the market. , consumer electronics giant tries to change it. Apple's music service could once again change up how consumers purchase music by placing a spotlight on the burgeoning trend of music subscriptions. The company's embrace of subscriptions comes amid shifting patterns in how consumers listen to and purchase music. Sweden-based startup Spotify is the global leader in music subscriptions, with 15 million paying members out of its 60 million listeners. Source: www.cnet.com
