30% of iPhone Users Leaning Toward Using iTunes Match
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky today published a report sharing the results of a new survey of iPhone users, unsurprisingly revealing that 76% of surveyed users are planning to take advantage of Apple's free iCloud services. More significantly, the survey offers the first look at the popularity of iTunes Match, with 30% of respondents indicating that they are somewhat likely or very likely to utilize the $24.99/year service.
Extrapolating the survey results across Apple's iOS ecosystem, RBC notes that Apple could see 150 million users on its free iCloud services with 60 million of those also participating in iTunes Match, a figure that would see Apple pulling in an extra $1.5 billion per year in gross revenues. With Apple reportedly keeping 30% of iTunes Match revenue with the rest being passed on to music labels and publishers, Apple would see about $450 million in revenues from the program.
Those figures are likely on the optimistic side, however, as only 10% of surveyed iPhone users registered as "very likely" to sign up for iTunes Match, with the other 20% pegging their interest at a lower "somewhat likely" level. Approximately 15% offered no opinion on whether or not they would use the service.
The survey also finds that 73% of surveyed users are somewhat likely or very likely to use Apple's new iMessage service in iOS 5. Together, iCloud and iMessage are seen to "enhance loyalty and stickiness" for Apple's customers, potentially encouraging iPod touch users to stick with the iOS platform rather than defecting to Android or another platform when it comes time to purchase a smartphone.
RBC's data appears to come from a subset of approximately 450 iPhone users within a larger survey containing nearly 1,500 respondents.
Popular Stories
AirTags may be a convenient way for tracking dogs that might get off leash or otherwise lost, but there are dangers associated with the practice, as outlined by a report from The Wall Street Journal.
At 1.26 inches in diameter, AirTags are able to fit easily on a dog's collar, but that size also makes the tracking devices small enough to swallow, at least for a medium to large-sized dog, and ...
In June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more.
Apple says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in late 2023, with committed automakers including Acura, Audi,...
Apple has previously announced several upcoming iOS features that are expected to be added to the iPhone this year. Some of the features could be introduced with iOS 16.4, which should enter beta testing soon, while others will arrive later in the year.
Below, we have recapped five new iOS features that are expected to launch in 2023, such as an Apple Pay Later financing option for purchases ...
Apple will launch a foldable iPad with a carbon fiber kickstand sometime next year, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. In a series of tweets, Kuo said he expects an "all-new design foldable iPad" to be the next big product launch in the iPad lineup, with no other major iPad releases in the next nine to 12 months. The analyst said he...
Apple's next device with an Apple silicon chip may not be a Mac or an iPad, but rather an advanced external display, according to recent reports.
The display, which is rumored to arrive this year, is expected to sit somewhere between the $1,599 Studio Display and the $4,999 Pro Display XDR – but more exact information about the device's positioning and price point is as yet unknown. While ...
When the original HomePod launched in 2018, it was discovered that the speaker can leave white rings on some wooden surfaces. Now, well-known YouTuber Marques Brownlee has confirmed that the issue persists to a lesser extent with the new HomePod.
In a side-by-side test, he showed that the white second-generation HomePod left a white ring on the wooden surface that he placed the speaker on,...
Apple violated United States labor laws when it sent out an email warning employees about leaking confidential information about the company, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said today in a ruling shared by Bloomberg.
Rules that Apple has established around leaks "tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees" from the exercise of their rights under the National Labor...
Top Rated Comments
In other words, could I subscribe to iTunes match for one year and get all of my ripped songs from iTunes and then drop it a year later and continue to have my songs matched in the cloud since I now have "official" iTunes files on my computer?
The $24.99/year service does look appealing to me, but the details surrounding the terms of service are still very scarce. I think a lot of the people who voted "Unlikely" either don't know much about iTunes Match or want to wait to see the details.
So the scenario would go like this....
1) Rip 100 CDs
2) Get iTunes Match and get iTunes digital files for everything ripped
3) Use iCloud to effortlessly move music between your devices whether bought on iTunes or matched by iTunes
4) iTunes Match subscription expires
5) All your iTunes Match music that has not been purchased can no longer be synced over iCloud, but you still have all the digital files so that you can sync them manually
Your alternative is to buy the music directly on iTunes to avoid the recurring fees. Basically, Apple is selling you the synching service and giving the music industry a cut. The music industry likes it because it creates a recurring revenue model for them on music they previously got nothing for, and if you don't like the recurring revenue, but like the iCloud service then maybe you will repurchase (or first-time purchase) the music that you ripped.
I imagine many folks actually purchased CDs as opposed to downloading bootlegged copies. But iTunes Match will treat those the same way.
That's not how it works. You can rip a CD into iTunes on your computer. Then, with iTunes Match, that album is scanned automatically and matched in the cloud as part of your library. At that point, you then have the option to download that album onto any other device that shares the same iTunes account (another Mac or PC, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, etc.). If your device is set to automatically download new content, then the ripped album will show up automatically.