Beats 1 is probably experiencing its peak listening figures for 2015, the server farm in Cupertino is desperately throwing the iOS 8.4 update files at users, the new iCloud Music Library is struggling to sync countless millions of iTunes... yes, Apple Music is here, in a flurry of 'everything is the same as all the other music streaming services you can subscribe to.' It's the same old songs (and '1989') with a shiny new application layer.
But there's one part of Apple Music that has caught my eye, and it's the part that I think will give Apple the short-term victory that the subscription service will need. While individual monthly subscriptions are the de rigueur $9.99, if you are using Apple's Family Sharing iCloud service a $14.99 monthly fee will allow six family members to use the Apple Music service.
That's significantly cheaper than buying everyone their own subscription. It's streets ahead of Rdio and Spotify's $5 per additional person plan, and there's no similar offer with Tidal or Google Play Music. The closest is Rhapsody's five-person family plan which is the same price, but is limited to US customers only (which means it's not an option open to me).
Couple the flexibility of Apple's family plan, its easy integration into iCloud's Family Sharing system, and the longevity of a three-month free trial, and I can see a lot of families switching their music subscription to Apple. That's the potential victory there for Apple. It's all about the switchers.
The real battle for Apple in these first few months is not going to be to attract a new audience to streaming services in general, although that will happen just by virtue of the iOS 8.4 update and the natural curiosity of finding a new feature in the Music app. The real battle will be to get consumers to switch from an existing streaming service such as Spotify or Xbox Live Music. These people have already decided to accept streaming music into their lives, the hard part of the argument has already happened. It's just a matter of building a reason to switch to Apple Music from the competition.
While the baseline offer of Apple Music is similar to the other services, bringing Apple Music to the whole family sets Apple Music apart from the other services available around the world. In this situation it makes Apple Music affordable for all. After three months, who's going to take away the gift of music from a fourteen year old music fan who tells her Dad she's discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd... while she secretly listens non-stop to Jedward?
(Now read about the death in the digital family inflicted by iOS 8.4).
