Apple has taken the challenge to Spotify today, by officially announcing its own music streaming service, Apple Music. The Cupertino company is in a good position to quickly become as dominant in online music streaming as it already is in digital music sales after Apple Music launches in over 100 countries at the end of June.
Subscribers to Apple Music will be able to listen from a huge catalog of tracks for a monthly fee of $9.99. There will also be the options of a 3-month free trial and, for six users using a single account, a family pass costing $14.99 a month.
However people sign up to the service, they will have a choice of exciting unique features including playlists programmed by world-class music experts, personalized music collections, and Beats 1, through which they can enjoy DJs playing live from New York, London and Los Angeles.
Apple Music should already be considered a serious competitor to the likes of Spotify and Rdio, as its automatic integration with the iOS Music app will make it easily accessible through every iPhone and iPad. Also, the complete service will not be limited to iOS and OS X users, as Windows computer users and, from late 2015, Apple TV and Android users will also be able to join in the fun.
