Spotify objects to Apple collecting a share of all the subscription fees paid by iOS users. A law proposed today in European Union would force Apple and Spotify into mediation on this issue.
And it’s not just Spotify. Under the proposal, Apple, Google, and other tech giants would have to appoint mediators in all their disagreements with smaller companies.
In the streaming music battle, the competition is between Spotify and Apple Music. Google Play Music is barely a blip, with 4 percent of the U.S. market.
But the situation is more complex than that. Google’s YouTube video service actually dominates streaming music, though it isn’t supposed to be in that business at all.
According to unconfirmed reports, Google plan is to merge its music service with another, and also turn millions of free YouTube listeners into paying customers.
Apple Music recently passed the 40 million paid subscribers mark. Just like old reports about now-tiny-looking “records” set by Apple, however, those numbers could soon be dwarfed thanks to Apple Music’s rapid growth.
According to a new report, Apple Music is set to achieve annual growth of 40 percent a year over the next three years. By our math, that would mean that Apple is looking at around 110 million users by around 2021.
The head of Hip-Hop/R&B Programming at Apple Music, Carl Chery, is reportedly headed for rival Spotify.
Chery worked for Apple since 2014, and was responsible for helping to launch the careers of Cardi B, Bryson Tiller, Post Malone, and others.
Apple flatly denies a persistent rumor that it’s going to end iTunes music sales on March 31, 2019. The basis for the rumor is vague statement from an Apple Music executive and a change in way most people listen to songs.
In the glory days of the iPod, Apple raked in millions selling individual tracks for 99 cents. Fast forward a decade to so, and streaming services are all the rage. This leaves people wondering how long Apple will keep selling music tracks.
HomePod sales have fallen well below expectations, according to one of the best Apple analysts in the game.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors today that Apple is considering making a low-cost version of the HomePod in order to give disappointing sales a boost.
Hip hop artist Cardi B has broken Taylor Swift’s record for first week Apple Music streams for an album by a female artist. According to Apple, Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy earned more than 100 million streams in its initial week.
Jimmy Iovine’s tenure as leader of Apple Music appears to have come to an end.
Apple promoted Oliver Schusser to be the new head of Apple Music Worldwide. The move comes right after the streaming service hit the 40 million subscriber mark.
Spotify and Apple are in a battle over rival streaming music services, and sometimes such conflicts can turn a bit petty.
After it was reported that The Weeknd’s latest album and lead single performed better on Apple Music than it did on Spotify, Spotify hit back by reporting that the numbers it initially gave were, in fact, wrong. It apparently beat Apple after all.
And that’s where things get confusing.
Apple Music appears to be narrowing the gap with Spotify when it comes to paid subscribers.
In a tweet this afternoon, Apple revealed that the total subscribers for its music service passed the 40 million mark during the same week Spotify’s stock went up for sale on the New York Stock Exchange.
