Apple Music - the killer of so called ROI Apps
Being a serious fan of internet streaming music, I have tried almost all famous versions of ROI (Radio On Internet - source: the interesting character of Russ Hanneman in TV series Silicon Valley) including Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, & Rdio. I keep switching between them as I get bored with the one. I always felt that something was missing. However, this month, I gave one more shot and tried one more product - Apple Music. Yes, call it a product or service, but it's very different from ROI (Apple continues to offer it's old free radio service). Apple seems to have found what I have been missing since long time i.e. one stop entertainment product that has the most diverse collection of ad free music, offers videos, connects with the artist community, available on all major platforms/devices (not only iOS but Windows and Android as well), and awesome recommendation system like that of Amazon.
Let me explain why Apple Music is uniquely positioned to become a market leader in the online music space.
1. Not Just ROI:
Apply Music app offers lot more features than Online Radios e.g. Videos. None of the radios I tried offers videos. If I like any music on radio, I generally visit YouTube to check the video which would start with some ad. So the whole experience goes for the toss. However, on Apple everything is integrated. Now, that doesn't mean YouTube is not great product, but it's value proposition and it's consumers are different.
Apply Music app offers lot more features than Online Radios e.g. Videos. None of the radios I tried offers videos. If I like any music on radio, I generally visit YouTube to check the video which would start with some ad. So the whole experience goes for the toss. However, on Apple everything is integrated. Now, that doesn't mean YouTube is not great product, but it's value proposition and it's consumers are different.
2. Omni Platforms and Devices:The same unique experience across devices (phone, pod, wearable, desktop, laptop, tab etc.,) and platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows)
3. Made For All Generations:"My Music" allows baby boomers who like to keep the old fashioned offline collection. Where as, "For You" is Made for Millennials who expect all services highly personalized and recommendations backed by machine learning algorithms. And Generation X can try both :)
4. Awesome Recommendation System: Apple has one of the best user driven recommendation system. Though other providers such as Pandora also has a decent recommendation system. But, Apple Music's system is highly interactive and intuitive. It not only allows users to select a wide range of generes and artists, but also allows them to choose the intensity of choice (if you just like your selection, tap once, but if you love it, tap twice)
5. Social:
Artists and fans can connect with one another in Apple Music with Connect. Through Connect, artists can share lyrics, backstage photos, videos or even release their latest song directly to fans directly from their iPhone. Fans can engage with the artist's posts via Messages, Facebook, Twitter and email.
Artists and fans can connect with one another in Apple Music with Connect. Through Connect, artists can share lyrics, backstage photos, videos or even release their latest song directly to fans directly from their iPhone. Fans can engage with the artist's posts via Messages, Facebook, Twitter and email.
6. Apt Pricing and Conversion Model: As of now Apple continues to offer its old free radio. I guess this is where all starts and you get first hand experience of Apple Music. Add to this the 3 months of free premium access, which is more than enough time to influence and convert these users to a paid subscription.
7. 800 Million iTunes Accounts:
Even If just 10% of users sign up for the Apple Music, it would be larger than other streaming services paid accounts combined. We all know the loyalty of Apple users and their willingness to purchase high quality premium service. You can do all the math, but it's a newborn Unicorn within Apple (I just love this overly used word "Unicorn", so had to use it :))
Even If just 10% of users sign up for the Apple Music, it would be larger than other streaming services paid accounts combined. We all know the loyalty of Apple users and their willingness to purchase high quality premium service. You can do all the math, but it's a newborn Unicorn within Apple (I just love this overly used word "Unicorn", so had to use it :))
So what lies ahead ?
Apple music is well positioned to be the market leader in the Online Music space and give a run for money to all ROI platforms. However, lot needs to be done. Video content is very limited at this point of time. Recommendation system is still new and yet to prove results. Market positioning still needs to be established i.e. whether it will only focus on premium customer and developed market as devices business or reach to masses though Android. Google and Amazon already compete in this space and with some improvement can compete neck to neck with Apply. All in all, a very interesting space to watch for over the next couple of years.
Apple music is well positioned to be the market leader in the Online Music space and give a run for money to all ROI platforms. However, lot needs to be done. Video content is very limited at this point of time. Recommendation system is still new and yet to prove results. Market positioning still needs to be established i.e. whether it will only focus on premium customer and developed market as devices business or reach to masses though Android. Google and Amazon already compete in this space and with some improvement can compete neck to neck with Apply. All in all, a very interesting space to watch for over the next couple of years.
Source: Apple and My Imagination
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