How it expects the people whose product it’s serving up to create new music without being paid is baffling.
It’s also a dangerous move by Apple. Tim Cook and co have seen iTunes downloads slump as streaming gets ever bigger.
Apple is very late to the party and it knows it, so offering freebies makes sense.
But there’s no doubt that Apple can dip into its vast cash reserves and pay labels to cover rights while users try out the service without paying. That it seems to be saying it can’t is disingenuous at best.
ios 8.4 music app update
It’s also a surefire way to rub artists up the wrong way. While Jay–Z’s Tidal platform has its issues, at least artists are front and centre.
Apple might be planning an artists-only social network as part of Apple Music, but you can bet musicians would rather get the money.
Increasingly, consumers are aware of these stories too. There appears to be a growing shift to wanting artists to be rewarded for their work, something which Apple would do well to remember.
If it wants Apple Music to succeed, it needs to have artists and labels on board and being paid properly. Failing to do so would be nothing short of a disgrace.
