Tag: Apple Music

Apple could be planning to make its best music subscription even better, following in the footsteps of Spotify’s new strategy. According to reports from Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, Spotify is crafting a higher-priced version of its music service. This new offering, tentatively named Music Pro, is set to include superior audio quality, concert ticket perks, and tools for subscribers to remix songs. The cost? About $6 more per month than the current subscription fee, bringing the total to around $17.

Spotify’s move to introduce a premium tier isn’t new; they’ve been wanting to match Apple Music’s high-quality audio for some time now. However, since Apple Music already provides lossless audio without an extra charge, Spotify needs more than just better sound to justify the price hike.

One idea they’re exploring is selling concert tickets directly through the app, a unique yet problematic market due to the complexities of ticket sales online. Additionally, the ability to remix or adjust songs like a DJ could be a significant draw for users.

On the Apple side, they’ve been offering advanced audio features like lossless audio and Dolby Atmos without additional cost. However, there’s talk that Apple, along with Amazon, might be considering premium tiers for their apps, including music services. This would be a shift from Apple’s current approach of enhancing services without increasing prices.

Apple has only raised the price of Apple Music once, from $9.99 to $10.99 a month back in 2022. If they decide to add more expensive tiers, they might include features like exclusive access to music stems for use in apps like GarageBand and Logic. Apple has already tested this concept in its creative workshops at retail stores but not as a take-home feature.

While nothing is set in stone, the idea of Apple charging more for these advanced features could signal a new direction in how they monetize their streaming service. This could depend on what unique offerings they can bring to the table to make the extra cost worthwhile for subscribers.

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Until the end of February, new and some returning customers in the U.S. can enjoy Apple Music for six months by paying only $2.99 once.

Apple Music

Apple hasn’t specified who exactly counts as an “eligible” subscriber, but if you’ve used Apple Music before, it’s worth checking the offer page on their site to see if you can get this deal. You can claim this offer right from the Home screen in the Apple Music app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, provided you’ve got the latest software update. Once your six-month trial ends, your subscription will continue at the regular price of $10.99 each month unless you cancel it.

Unbeatable Offer

Apple calls this their “best offer ever” for Apple Music.

Kendrick Lamar at Super Bowl LIX

Apple Music is also the main sponsor for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, where you’ll see Kendrick Lamar perform. The app has special sections with lots of content about Lamar’s show at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Additionally, Lamar is spotlighted in Apple Fitness+ sessions, and Apple News has a special area just for Super Bowl LIX news and updates.

The latest Apple Music Replay playlist for 2025 is now ready for you to check out. Many users have noticed that this year’s Replay playlist has appeared in their music collections today.

Apple Music Replay keeps track of your favorite songs, albums, and artists all year long. This playlist isn’t static; it changes throughout the year, giving you a glimpse of your music tastes up to the current month. By December, you’ll have a complete summary of your year in music.

This feature is great for Apple Music fans because it lets you keep tabs on your music habits as the year goes by. Currently, the Replay ’25 playlist shows your listening trends from January 2025, and it will keep updating as the year moves forward.

To find your Replay playlist, just go to the bottom of the Home screen in your Apple Music app. Once you see the playlist card, you can tap it and save it to your Library for quick access later. It will refresh itself with your most recent listening activities.

For more insights, you can visit the Apple Music Replay website. There, you can see stats like how many minutes you’ve listened, who your top artists and albums are, and if you’ve hit any listening milestones. These details will grow with each passing month, starting from January 2025.

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Not all music streaming platforms give the same amount of money to musicians, and a recent study shows just how different these payments can be. For example, Apple Music pays artists way more than Spotify does.

The study, done by Duetti, looks at how much artists got paid in 2024 by different platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.

One key thing they checked was how much money artists make for every 1,000 times their song is played. Here’s what they found for 2024:

• Amazon paid $8.80 for 1,000 streams.
• Apple Music paid $6.20.
• YouTube paid $4.80.
• Spotify only paid $3.00.

This shows that Apple Music paid artists more than twice what Spotify did. One reason for Spotify’s lower payments is its free version which has lots of ads but doesn’t make much money for artists.

While Spotify has ads like YouTube, YouTube still manages to pay artists more. Apple Music, on the other hand, only has paid subscriptions, which lets them give more money to artists.

Another concerning point from the report is that even though Spotify has been increasing its prices, the money artists get from each stream has been going down. This is a bit troubling, especially since Spotify has been putting more effort into podcasts and audiobooks, possibly at the cost of music artists’ earnings.

Apple Music hasn’t seen direct AI enhancements yet, but a new feature from Apple Intelligence, introduced with iOS 18.2, is indirectly enhancing the music app experience. Here’s how:

Image Playground: The Artwork Solution for Apple Music

Apple’s Image Playground is an AI tool designed to generate unique images. While not yet integrated into Apple Music, it offers an innovative way to enhance playlist aesthetics. Previously, selecting or creating the perfect artwork for playlists was often a challenge, with the default options feeling repetitive or lacking personal touch.

Now, with Image Playground, users can craft bespoke artwork. The process is straightforward: describe your vision in the app, and AI generates several images to choose from. Once you’ve selected your favorite, save it to your Photos library and import it into your Apple Music playlist. This is done by accessing the playlist, hitting the edit option from the three dots menu, and selecting the camera icon to add your custom image.

A New Era for Playlists

The introduction of Image Playground has transformed playlist creation from a functional task into an artistic one. It allows for a more personalized listening experience, where each playlist not only sounds unique but looks unique too. Initially perceived as just a playful tool, Image Playground has found a practical application in enhancing the visual appeal of Apple Music playlists.

As we look forward to potential updates, there’s hope that future iOS versions might integrate this feature directly into Apple Music, making the process even more seamless. For now, Image Playground stands as a testament to how AI can subtly improve everyday app functionalities, turning them into sources of creativity and personal expression.

Apple Music bénéficie indirectement de l’ajout d’Image Playground, une nouvelle fonctionnalité d’Apple Intelligence introduite avec iOS 18.2. Bien que l’application n’intègre pas encore directement cette fonctionnalité, elle permet aux utilisateurs de créer des illustrations… pic.twitter.com/2es3bGFbQx

— Bruno Guglielminetti | Mon Carnet (@Guglielminetti) January 20, 2025