Apple Music Vs. Spotify Vs. Rdio & Everyone Else

Kaustubh Katdare

Kaustubh Katdare

@thebigk • Oct 26, 2024
Apple got into direct war with the established music streaming / radio services which includes Spotify, Rdio and everyone else with the announcement of Apple Music. There is a big difference between the way the service is offered to the users. Apple has put a price tag of $9.99/month on Apple Music and there is no 'free tire' supported with advertisements. Spotify, Rdio and others, however have a free tire that inserts advertisements into your streams at intervals.

I was wondering if Apple's got any advantage over the others; because free music is actually going to attract a lot of listeners. Its estimated that only 15% of Spotify's 60 million plus users are paid users. So how does it all work out for Apple?

I think Apple knows that they don't want to go after the free music listeners. Rather, they'd try for onboarding the paying users of other services to Apple Music. Apple already knows that these users are willing to pay to listen to music and all it needs to offer them a set of nice features that will make Apple Music look more attractive.

Also note that all the established players aren't locking the users into annual contracts; which means users are free to quit existing service and switch to Apple Music. Apple will further accelerate the switch by installing the Apple Music app by default on upcoming iOS 9. That's also one of the main reasons Apple's also launching the Apple Music on Android platform.

It's clear that more than gaining market share; Apple's focused on generating one more revenue stream; that could just grow to several million, if not billion in coming years. If that happens, Spotify, Rdio and others be prepared for the attack. Everything is fair in love and war!
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  • Satya Swaroop Dash

    Satya Swaroop Dash

    @satya-swaroop-YDeBJM • Jun 9, 2015

    Here is why Apple is right in implementing a paid policy for its Apple Music Service.

    Unlike local music streaming service providers like Saavn and Gaana, American music subscribers push a lot of ads. I used Rdio’s service when it debuted in India through its Windows Phone app and it was a hellish experience. You could not have more than 3 skips and hour and the adverts were really lengthy. With a paid system Apple will be able to bypass the skip limit and you can hear a lot of songs.

    Second, Apple is pushing a paid model because it wants to garner enough cash to pocket artists. A while back Taylor Swift insisted on removing her songs from Spotify. She chose Jay Z owned Tidal for her songs because it provided her with appropriate remuneration. Apple is known to chop artists and offer them exclusively on its service. Apple monthly subscription is expensive than others, thats a shame.
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  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Kaustubh Katdare

    @thebigk • Jun 9, 2015

    Satya Swaroop Dash
    Second, Apple is pushing a paid model because it wants to garner enough cash to pocket artists.
    THAT!

    I think that will give the famous and the independent, unknown artists a strong reason to release their content on Apple Music over Spotify or others. In Western countries it won't be a big problem for Apple to get paying users. I'm wondering if their service will be successful in India - if it gets launched here.
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