Apple Music is here, but is it ready to take the streaming industry by storm?
Apple have explored a fair few avenues within the technology sector, receiving global recognition for each and every advancement to date, and the brand’s new music streaming platform, aptly named Apple Music, is expected to be the revolution they were presumably hoping for.
Zealous fans all around the world were jittering in their seats at its highly-anticipated release (30th June). But has the service really lived up to expectations? Has it achieved usability and attractive aesthetics in equal measure, a balance so characteristic of Apple? Let’s find out from the users themselves, who shared their thoughts on 9to5Mac.
Walt Mossberg, a columnist for Re/Code, who trialled the software, commented on Apple Music and mentioned that it “may overwhelm some users” and that he will “need to live with it more” before coming to a conclusion.
As with any new platform, a few teething issues are predictable, but he also added that his “first impression of Apple Music is that it’s the most full-featured streaming music app” he’s come across. More importantly, this user described it as the first he’d “consider paying for.”
But what did other customers think?
Well, Jim Dalrymple, of loopinsight.com, said, “Apple Music is a quality service, with the right mix of human curation and algorithms to help users figure out exactly what they want to hear.”
And Kory Grow, author and contributor to numerous columns, including rollingstone.com, also provided an insight. He stated that “with its vast selection of music and smartly curated playlists and radio, Apple Music is robust enough to compete with, and possibly supplant, Spotify and Pandora as the go-to music service for music fans”.
That said, he also admitted that “users will need to play around with it a bit and dig to move past some of the less immediately intuitive facets”. In addition, he shared his thoughts on Apple Music’s Connect radio, which can be seen on 9to5Mac, alongside more reviews.
So, with all of this in mind, it becomes clear that Apple Music has, in fact, managed to win the hearts of these customers, among others who were impressed by the system’s capabilities and its capacity to learn from, and remain in sync with its user.
Of course, only time will tell how it will continue to develop. But in the meantime, we can look forward to enjoying a unique streaming service, completely tailored to what we like (and what we don’t!), in real-time. This isn’t to forget that we’ll benefit from seamless integration, quite literally, at the click of the touchscreen.
But what’s i3MEDIA's interest in this platform, and why are we so excited to see what Apple Music has in store for its users in the future? Well, our experience developing artradio.tv has opened our eyes to the way individuals share and connect with one another in the digital world, using an approach that is just as powerful as writing a post on your social media account.
You see, platforms such as these give artists of all kinds the right to express themselves in a way that both enthuses and moves individuals, just like you and me.
From a user perspective, they also give us the chance to explore countless avenues based on our interests, be it music or art, using software that reveals just a slice of the beauty of going digital in our day-to-day lives.
So go on, be inspired by Apple Music and make the most of what this generation of music-lovers, art-sharers and tech-savvy individuals has to offer.