Apple Music tunes in to worldwide streaming radio

Apple last night made the long-awaited announcement of Apple Music, an app that brings users’ own collections together with a global music radio station.

Apple yesterday unveiled Apple Music, a single, app that combines a variety of ways to enjoy music, all in one place. Apple Music is a revolutionary streaming music service, in effect a worldwide live radio station from Apple broadcasting 24 hours a day.

Apple Music combines the largest and most diverse collection of music on the planet with the expertise of world-class music experts who have programmed playlists for your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, Apple TV and Android phones.* Apple Music will be available starting on June 30 in more than 100 countries, including South Africa.

We love music, and the new Apple Music service puts an incredible experience at every fan’s fingertips,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “All the ways people love enjoying music come together in one app ‚Äî a revolutionary streaming service, live worldwide radio and an exciting way for fans to connect with artists.

“Apple Music is really going to move the needle for fans and artists,” said Jimmy Iovine. “Online music has become a complicated mess of apps, services and websites. Apple Music brings the best features together for an experience every music lover will appreciate.

Apple Music

Apple Music starts with the music users already know ‚Äî whether from the iTunes Store or ripped CDs ‚Äî and allows it to live in one place alongside the Apple Music catalogue, comprising more than 30 million songs. Users can stream any song, album or playlist they choose ‚Äî or “let Apple Music do the work for you”, as the hype machine put it.

According to Apple, “Curation is the soul of every playlist created on Apple Music. Apple has hired the most talented music experts from around the world, dedicated to creating the perfect playlists based on your preferences, and they become better curators the more you listen.

The “For You” section of Apple Music provides a fresh mix of albums, new releases and playlists, which have been personalised for each user.

In addition to human curation, Siri has also been roped in to help users enjoy music and have fun with Apple Music. Ask Siri to, “Play me the best songs from 1994,” “Play the best FKA twigs song,” or “What was the number one song in February 2011?” and it will oblige.

Apple Music Radio

Beats 1, Apple’s first ever live radio station dedicated entirely to music and music culture, will broadcast live to over 100 countries. Beats 1 is a 24-hour experience led by influential DJs Zane Lowe in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden in New York and Julie Adenuga in London. Listeners around the globe will hear the same programming at the same time. Beats 1 will offer exclusive interviews, guest hosts and what’s going on in the world of music.

Apple Music Radio offers other stations created by some of the world’s finest radio DJs. The new stations range in genres from indie rock to classical and folk to funk, with each one expertly curated. With membership, users can skip as many songs as they like, so can change the tune without changing the dial.

Apple Music Connect

Artists and fans can now connect with one another directly in Apple Music with Connect. Through Connect, artists can share lyrics, backstage photos, videos or release their latest song to fans directly from their iPhone. Fans can comment on or like anything an artist has posted, and share it via Messages, Facebook, Twitter and email. When they comment, the artist can respond directly.

Pricing & Availability

Starting on June 30, music fans around the world are invited to a 3-month free membership, after which a $9.99/month subscription fee will apply. There will also be a family plan providing service for up to six family members available for $14.99/month.

At the end of the trial period, the membership will automatically renew and payment method will be charged on a monthly basis until auto-renewal is turned off in account settings. Family plan requires iCloud Family Sharing. See www.apple.com/ie/icloud/family-sharing for more information.

Local pricing will be available closer to launch.

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