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Apple Playing 'Catch Up' With Beats Acquisition as Music Labels Push for Subscription Services

Friday May 9, 2014 12:06 pm PDT by Juli Clover
beatsOver the course of the last several years, streaming music services like Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, and Beats Music have been growing in popularity, usurping traditional music downloads as consumers' listening method of choice. Despite the shift in user preference, Apple has been slow to adapt, attempting to stick to its download model even as its iTunes music sales have declined.

According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal music labels had been urging Apple to get into the subscription music business long before the company decided to enter negotiations to purchase Beats Electronics, and with it, the Beats Music streaming service.

Record executives have been "lobbying Apple for months" to design a subscription streaming service that would introduce the streaming music business model to a wider array of consumers, but Apple has been reluctant to create such a service, instead focusing on download-centric ideas such as exclusive iTunes album releases.

Back in December, Beyoncé launched an iTunes exclusive album and Apple hoped to negotiate with record labels to secure additional exclusive releases to boost iTunes music sales. Record labels didn't believe that strategy would do enough to bolster flagging sales, and instead presented Apple with ideas like prompting users to subscribe to a music service over purchasing a music album.
Apple, on the other hand, had pitched more download-centric ideas in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter. One such suggestion was that record companies release all new albums exclusively on iTunes in album-only format for a window of time to drive album sales, before releasing the singles separately and making them available on streaming services. But labels countered that such a strategy--employed successfully by Beyoncé last year--wouldn't work across the board.
Declining music sales have become a significant issue for Apple, to the point where the company has been forced to consider an entire overhaul of iTunes, introducing not only a streaming music service, but also an Android version of the iTunes store. Music downloads declined approximately 13.3 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Apple did launch iTunes Radio back in September of 2013, providing a station-based streaming music service similar to Pandora, but this was seen as a "baby step" aimed at bolstering sales of Apple devices rather than a dedicated entry into the streaming music market.

With the purchase of Beats Music, Apple is potentially signaling its readiness to adapt to the music industry's shift towards streaming services and its readiness to bring music streaming to the mainstream. While Spotify and other streaming services are relatively small, Apple's massive iTunes customer base gives it the potential to introduce streaming music to a huge number of users.

Toward that end, Jon Maples argues that an acquisition of Beats would give Apple an easy entry into the true subscription music streaming market without necessarily diluting iTunes.
While music purchases may be falling, it’s still a big business for Apple. So instead of creating another option in iTunes that would potentially cannibalize download sales, why not just buy a service and keep it separate? Streaming blows up: Apple wins. Streaming doesn’t pan out, well, they still have the iTunes store chugging along.
With Apple having 800 million iTunes accounts to leverage, most with credit cards on file, the company can streamline and promote the Beats experience while still leaving its iTunes download service intact. And as Maples notes, Beats' headphone business is currently highly profitable, which means Apple's $3.2 billion purchase of Beats (Apple's largest acquisition ever by far) could pay for itself in a relatively short period of time and actually provide Apple with a low-cost entry into subscription music services on the side.

[ 223 comments ]


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rosalindavenue
69 months ago
Relevant Rumors:

1. Didn't apple try to make iTunes radio a Spotify clone, but hit a wall in that the labels wanted to charge them more than they charge Spotify? I am certain I read this somewhere.

2. Someone on Twitter today said that if Spotify or Rdio is purchased, their licensing deals don't pass to the new owner. However, Beats Radio (which they obtained by buying MOG) does not have this restriction, and the purchaser (Apple) gets the streaming rights.

Combine both rumors-- the purchase gets Apple the streaming rights they wanted, at a better price. Plus they get the current biggest brand in music and a pricey accessory to sell.
Rating: 23 Votes
Avatar
Zerilos
69 months ago

Steve Jobs wouldn't have done this! :cool:


Steve Jobs would hate this type of comment.
Rating: 20 Votes
Avatar
Godzilla71
69 months ago

Steve Jobs wouldn't have done this! :cool:


He wouldn't have done ping either :rolleyes: .... oh, wait. :p ;)
Rating: 17 Votes
Avatar
amirite
69 months ago
Steve Jobs wouldn't have done this! :cool:
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
Zerilos
69 months ago

Why not just buy Pandora or Spotify?


Translation: Why not pay 5x more and not pick up a profitable accessory line in the process.
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
cashxx
69 months ago
Let them push!!!!!!!!!

Let them push, its going back to the old model and bad for consumers!!! You have to subscribe to get one song.

Everything is going to subscription from Games, to Music, to Software, etc and its bad for consumers!!!

People need to stop buying into these subscription based models or they will just keep coming!
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
usarioclave
69 months ago
Why not just buy Pandora or Spotify?
Rating: 8 Votes
Avatar
Daremo
69 months ago
There are so many other areas Apple can improve on, this seems oddly out of place.
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
Locoboof
69 months ago

Relevant Rumors:

1. Didn't apple try to make iTunes radio a Spotify clone, but hit a wall in that the labels wanted to charge them more than they charge Spotify? I am certain I read this somewhere.

2. Someone on Twitter today said that if Spotify or Rdio is purchased, their licensing deals don't pass to the new owner. However, Beats Radio (which they obtained by buying MOG) does not have this restriction, and the purchaser (Apple) gets the streaming rights.

Combine both rumors-- the purchase gets Apple the streaming rights they wanted, at a better price. Plus they get the current biggest brand in music and a pricey accessory to sell.


Exactly.....
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
Razeus
69 months ago
It's just another sign how Apple is totally behind the ball. Still no streaming service even though it's clear it's a favored service over downloading.

I shouldn't have to pay for a second service and install yet another app because Apple completely now lacks the foresight of what their customers want, something Apple doesn't have. iTunes should be all encompassing for all of my music needs by now. When I want to hear random songs I don't own in a given genre - radio on iTunes; download songs on my device from the cloud - iTunes Match; discover and listen to new music - streaming iTunes; love the album enough to purchase? iTunes.

Why is this so hard Apple?

Still no large screen iPhone, again customers wanting something they don't have.

Apple is behind in just about everything tech these days. 7 years later, they are still pushing 16GB phones as base and apps still don't talk to each other to share and work with files (why do I have to have 5 photos of the same picture just because I used 5 different apps to final version of the photo I wanted?).
Rating: 6 Votes

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