In a digital age where no one wants to pay for anything, Apple is struggling to convince people to pay for music. In an interview given the other day for an American publication, Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Beats and Apple director who runs Apple Music, spoke about the problems that offering free music brings.
He stated that if Apple Music had been available in a permanent free version, then the service reportedly had 400 million monthly active users. Here he attacks Spotify, which has a free version and is full of ads, the Apple director stating that this audio streaming service model is actually harmful for the artists who offer their music.
In order to convince more people to pay for Apple Music, Jimmy Iovine believes that he must also offer special benefits. More precisely, Apple is seriously investing in video content for Apple Music, and the company hopes that this will convince people to make subscriptions, with which in return to pay the artists whose music is offered through the system.
"I've put my money where my mouth is: Beats Music didn't have a free tier. Apple Music doesn't have a free tier. I'm not just talking about it; I'm walking it. That's why I aligned with Eddy and Tim and Steve. They thought the same way. I think what's going on [with free music] is wrong. I just do.”
What Iovine says makes it clear that users who use Apple Music for free for 3 months could be left without access to certain content from the platform. They might have to pay a monthly subscription to access that content, and the amounts Apple is asking aren't so high as to scare off potential customers.
"In the beginning of Apple Music, I was very frustrated; I tried to fight [Spotify] and all those things. Now all we can do is make Apple Music such a special place that people want to come and that will encourage more people [to subscribe].”
Of course, Apple's ideas are good for the industry, but convincing people to pay for something they don't necessarily need is not such an easy job.
