iTunes Radio No Longer Free

A while back, I talked about how Apple will cease playing iTunes Radio for non-Apple Music members. Today, that change is in effect. You must be have an active Apple Music membership (or trial) to be able to listen to iTunes Radio. However, this choice doesn't affect Beats 1, however Beats 1 is not customized radio. An Apple Music membership costs $9.99/month for an individual and $14.99/month for a family.

Apple Ending Ad-Supported Radio

iTunes Radio Stations will cease to use ads, as part of Apple winding down its iAd platform. Unfortunately, that means you will need an Apple Music subscription to listen to iTunes Radio Stations. Beats 1 is the only station that will be free. Apple Music subscriptions cost $9.99/month for individuals and $14.99/month for families. 

Apple Music's First Six Months

Apple has been advertising Apple Music pretty vigorously, and for good reason. When Apple wants to make their product synonymous with the market it's in, that's what they do. It's been about six months (June 30th, 2015) since Apple Music was released to the public. They are expected to have 8 million paying customers by the year's end. In addition, they should have 20 million customers by the end of 2016, according to Mark Mulligan. Apple Music subscriptions are $9.99/month for individual plans and $14.99/month for family plans for up to six people.

Apple Music Ad Airs During The Emmys

Apple debuted a new ad during the Emmys tonight. It featured Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington with Mary J. Blige. Other than the guest cameos, it's nothing new from Apple. With Apple Music quickly becoming the center of attention of Apple, advertising for it is to be expected. However, it's nice to see this kind of stuff during national televised events.

Playlists, the new mixtapes. Go ahead ladies! @maryjblige @kerrywashington @TherealTaraji http://t.co/cctGZAhwuP https://t.co/VTnkmeEr4E

— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) September 21, 2015

Apple Music and Beats 1 Released

Today, Apple Music was released. Here are some quick impressions. I'm no music critic, and I probably have no credibility for this post, but I do know one thing. This is a unique idea by Apple. It builds on where iTunes Ping failed. I like the idea of a global radio station (Beats 1) with live DJs. I only wish my car had Apple CarPlay so that I could easily listen to this in the car. I can't really critique the music selection for reasons mentioned earlier. I hope anyone curious about it gets the opportunity to try it out. They probably will as Apple is making this as universal as possible with versions for PC and Android.

'Freedom' by Pharrell Will Be Exclusive To Apple Music

With the release of Apple Music coming soon, Pharrell Williams has announced that his single '
"Freedom" will be exclusive to Apple Music. This comes after hearings of Apple talking with artists on publishing their music on Apple Music. What else will this spawn in the future? Apple Music will be available with a number of updates on June 30th.

Freedom. June 30th @AppleMusic https://t.co/82MceAkbRe

— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) June 23, 2015

Beats Music Will Be Included In iOS Next Year

According to the Financial Times, Apple will bundle Beats Music in iOS next year. This is a particularly strange move for Apple as they have iTunes Radio. Will Beats Music turn into iTunes Radio or will it be a standalone product? I would guess that it would evolve into iTunes Radio as Apple's streaming service hasn't performed well and adapting a popular music service would be a very good move by Apple. Well, those are my thoughts. Here's what the Financial Times had to say about it.

"Apple will bundle the subscription music service it acquired from Beats into its iOS operating system early next year, instantly making it available on hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads – and ramping up pressure on Spotify, the market leader in music streaming. The inclusion of the paid-for Beats service in an iOS software update could happen as early as March, according to people familiar with the situation."

Bloom.fm iAd Blocked by Apple

Apple has blocked an iAd, a special type of advertisement for iOS devices, for a competitor to Apple's iTunes Radio in the UK. Bloom.fm is a service that allows free music streaming (of a limited selection) for 1£ a month. While iTunes Radio isn't available in the UK yet, but is coming in early 2014. Bloom.fm says that they understand why Apple would "want to protect their business." Bloom.fm is only available in the UK.