iTunes
Spotify might still be the biggest music streaming platform in the world, but Apple Music is now nipping at its heels. Since launching in 2015, it’s grown to nearly 80 million subscribers. And after largely replacing iTunes in 2019, it’s become an even bigger part of Apple’s subscription service push.
Unlike some of Apple’s other offerings, the platform is available on more than just Apple devices. It also has aspirations far beyond just music streaming, with the budget and vision to make that future a reality.
So what is Apple Music and is it worth a subscription? Keep reading for everything you need to know about the platform, from features and pricing to its biggest competitors.
Apple Music is a premium music streaming service with more than 90 million songs available to stream from the cloud. It also hosts several free internet radio stations broadcasting 24 hours a day in over 160 countries around the world. It launched in 2015 after Apple’s acquisition of Beats, replacing the company’s budding Beats Music service.
Billed as a one-stop-shop for all your music streaming needs, the service allows access to an extensive library of songs as well as your own personal library of purchased music from iTunes via iCloud integration. When iTunes was phased out with the release of macOS Catalina in mid-2019, Apple Music became the default music app on all Apple devices.
Although it initially received mixed reviews for an unintuitive UI, over the years Apple Music has grown into a major player in the music streaming wars. Now that it has been incorporated into Apple One alongside Apple TV Plus and others, it’s set to play an even bigger part in Apple’s wider subscription service strategy.
