Beats Music Rises To The Top Of The Charts, But This Isn't The Time To Celebrate
April 25, 2014
Nearly five months after it made its U.S. debut, Beats Music is now the most downloaded music app on the App Store. Its arrival at No. 1 comes just one week after the music app began accepting subscriptions via Apple’s in-app purchase service.
First launched in January, Beats Music rivals Spotify, Rdio, and other premium music services. It was founded by music producer Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.
The freemium Beats Music app has been No. 1 on the charts since Wednesday. This doesn’t mean the service is a success.
According to Billboard, early subscriber estimates are “disappointing,” with numbers in the “low six figures.” By comparison, Pandora has more than 3.3 million paying subscribers, and 75.3 million active listeners.
Until Beats Music began accepting in-app purchases earlier this month, a subscription to the service was only available online. AT&T customers also have the ability to add the service to their monthly cellular bill and receive a discount on group subscriptions.
Billboard says the move to let listeners subscribe to Beats Music within its iOS app after the 7-day free trial period expires has likely boosted interest in the service. At the same time, the move means that Apple receives 30 percent of every subscription sold this way.
I remain a Beats Music subscriber, months after publishing my review. This doesn't mean I'm completely satisfied with the service, and probably won't be until a Beats Music iPad app is released. Nonetheless, I remain impressed with the uniqueness of the service and recommend it.
The Beats Music app is available by following this link.
