Apple Music's pre-launch marketing campaign has prominently featured big-name independent artists like FKA Twigs and Alabama Shakes, even as their record labels have publicly opposed the new service's financial terms and indicated that they are not yet on board.
The native Music app in Apple's iOS 8.4 and iOS 9 betas was updated on Thursday with access to a new "Radio" tab, including a preview of the company's new live, flagship radio station Beats 1.
Independent music labels in the UK are reportedly loath to agree to Apple's demand that they receive no royalties for songs played during Apple Music's three-month free trial period, a sticking point that could leave the new streaming service missing some major artists at launch.
Users of the latest iOS 8.4 public beta are encountering a signup prompt for Apple Music a full two weeks before the service is scheduled to go live, according to tips received by AppleInsider.
Apple will pay out more than 70 cents of every dollar it earns from its new streaming music service, the company revealed on Monday, a slight premium over the rates paid by competing services like Spotify.
The lion's share of the week's Apple news occurred during Monday's WWDC 2015 keynote, when the company unveiled OS X El Capitan, iOS 9, watchOS 2, and Apple Music. The rest of the week was not uneventful however, with word of antitrust investigations and the real story behind Apple's mapping vans.
Rdio on Friday responded to this week's announcement of Apple Music, satirizing Apple marketing from 1981 as part of an argument that the company is doing nothing fundamentally new.
After months of rumor and speculation, Apple on Monday unveiled its first foray into paid music streaming with Apple Music. Featuring access to an extensive iTunes-based catalog, human-curated playlists, Beats 1 radio and Connect social networking for artists, the product promises to be one of Apple's biggest releases for 2015.
Attorneys general in New York and Connecticut are conducting a joint antitrust investigation concerning Apple's negotiations with record labels over its new Apple Music streaming service.
Apple is putting a 256kbps cap on Apple Music streaming, a report said Tuesday, a bitrate lower than competing top-tier offerings from Spotify and the service's own Beats Music forebear.
Even after making Apple Music public during Monday's WWDC keynote, Apple is still negotiating some important music licenses for the streaming service, a new report says.
After Apple officially debuted its Apple Music streaming service at WWDC on Monday, industry executives blithely offered their two cents — albeit anonymously — on the latest product to come out of Cupertino, proclaiming early that it won't be a runaway success.
Apple late Monday posted to its website a full version of this year's WWDC keynote address, which clocked in at just under two and a half hours from Bill Hader's comedic intro to a musical performance by The Weeknd.
As a part of its its WWDC 2015 keynote, Apple announced that iOS 8.4 and a new version of iTunes will be available by June 30, in time for the launch of the on-demand Apple Music streaming service.
Featuring on-demand content, curated playlists, and a new global always-on radio station dubbed "Beats One," Apple Music is a subscription service that aims to redefine how people discover and listen to music for $9.99 a month, or $14.99 for six family members. It launches on June 30 for Apple devices and Windows, but will also come to Android and Apple TV this fall.
For Apple Music, the streaming music service due to be unveiled later on Monday at WWDC, Apple is reportedly setting an incredibly lofty goal of signing up 100 million subscribers.
In the midst of an interview at the annual Midem conference in Cannes on Sunday, Sony Music CEO Doug Morris confirmed Apple's plans to unveil a streaming music service during next week's WWDC keynote address.
This week saw a flurry of last-minute rumors emerge about Apple's planned WWDC 2015 announcements — including streaming music, and the absence of highly-anticipated TV offerings.
Apple's new streaming music service — likely to be announced at a Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday — will be called "Apple Music," and will use personalization to help set itself apart, a report said on Friday.
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Sam Oliver
Neil Hughes
AppleInsider Staff
Roger Fingas
Mikey Campbell
