WHAT IS THIS NEW APPLE MUSIC ALL ABOUT?

When I finally got a day off I decided to put it use by baking, catching up on Orange is the New Black and checking out this whole new Apple Music streaming thing – a productive day if you ask me.

A note before I start my critique, I am already an owner of Spotify Premium, paying half price for it because I’m milking my student status for all it’s worth. I adore it because I can access any music I want at the click of a button, can download it to play offline, share music with anyone I want and don’t have to sit through annoying adverts just so I can carry on listening. However, the only downfall is I can’t download it onto my iPod as I own an iPod classic – so retro I know.

How much is this going to set me back?

Everyone starts off with a free trial of 3 months BUT once that time period is over, you have to make the decision as to whether you’re willing to pay money for this service.

The 2 paying options are £9.99 a month for single user of £14.99 for a family membership, which in the long run could be significantly cheaper if you’re living in a musically inclined household.

There is a free option which still allows you to listen to the radio and download music but you have to put up with adverts and limited song skipping.

Overall opinion – the price isn’t any cheaper or more extortionate compared to other streaming services, I would rather be paying for one service rather than 2 or more meaning I’ll have to eventually choose Apple Music or Spotify.

Are the recommendations actually any good?

When you set this all up, it allows you to pick genres and artists you like and love in order to tailor playlists and recommendations to your taste – this becomes the basis of the ‘For You’ section.

Unlike other streaming services, Apple Music combines both algorithms and actual human intelligence to pick out the perfect recommendations for you; Spotify and Tidal use algorithms which is why I once had them recommend Black Eyed Peas because I listened to Michael Bublé...

This is all updated 3 times a day, meaning by the time you’ve exhausted the playlists they’ve provided you with, there will be a whole new selection to explore.

As well as rating songs they give you by clicking a little heart, you can also select your favourites from your own iTunes library.

Overall opinion – They’ve developed something worthwhile here, the recommendations actually match my taste in music and the playlists give you a chance to rediscover songs you’ve forgotten about as well as find new artists. The only playlists that seem a bit pointless are the ‘Intro to *insert artist*’, I don’t think many people need to be introduced to the Arctic Monkeys!

What’s available in the New section?

This not only combines new artists and recent releases but is where the majority of the playlists are stored as well.

Something they’re brought in is editor and curator playlists which allows the people behind the magic of this programme to give you an insight into what they’re listening to.

The current chart music is featured and they’ve introduced ‘A-List’ playlists for every genre, which includes popular songs in that category as well as up and coming artists.

There’s a section for themed playlists, for example cooking or breaking up playlists which can be found under ‘Activity Playlists’ and there is one main category shown on the home page of ‘New’. Mine happens to be ‘Workout Playlists’, not sure what they’re trying to tell me...

Similar to Spotify, you can download any playlist to listen to offline meaning you no longer have to struggle to find Wi-Fi just to access your music, although there is no icon telling that you’ve downloaded a playlist meaning you’ll need a good memory if you’ve saved a few.

Overall opinion – The variety found on this page beats any other streaming service by a long way, there are so many possibilities for discovery and I no longer have to worry about making myself a gym or pre-drinks playlist as there’s already one that can be tailored to my preferences at the click of a button.

What makes Beats 1 Radio so different to other radio stations?

As they will tell you constantly when listening, it is a ‘24/7 worldwide radio station’; however in reality there isn’t much difference.

They will be getting exclusives but if you miss it while it’s live there is no option to catch up. This is a disappointment given BBC Radio 1 has started streaming on BBC iPlayer as well as having the option of catching up on videos online.

My main gripe with local radio has always been repetition, there is only so many times I can stand hearing ‘All About That Bass’ played in the space of 24 hours. Unfortunately this issue hasn’t disappeared with Beats 1 either, so if you do plan to listen to it for an extended period of time I hope you are a fan of Pharrell Williams.

Much like other radio stations, you can’t skip songs but if you choose to listen to the genre specific radio stations this feature is available.

Despite its similarities to already available radio, Beats 1 brings you something that most radio stations lack nowadays – real music fans at the forefront of the broadcast. There is something wonderful about hearing a radio DJ fawning over a gig they went to the night before or excitedly ranting about a new artist they’ve discovered. Whether that experience appeals to everyone is yet to be seen but with passion being the driving force behind it all, there is a chance for success.

Overall opinion – being someone who can only stand a couple of hours of radio at a time, it will be interesting to see if I tolerate this better, something I think that can only be discovered over time. I think this will be the main selling point of the whole product, especially as it will be available to those on a free membership.

What is this whole Connect thing?

This can go either way with an Apple user, either you care about what you’re favourite artists are up to or you couldn’t care less as Twitter gives you the same information at the same time.

There is an option in your iTunes library to ‘follow’ an artist, which then brings them up on your Connect homescreen, giving you regular updates from them.

It’s a way for artists to connect with their fans, allowing them to post media and get instant feedback in the form of likes, comments and shares. This is no different to any other social media platform except you can’t connect with your own friends. There is no way for me to post my own content, therefore in my eyes rendering it useless as I want to be able to show my friends that our favourite artist just posted a new video.

Another issue is that unless your favourite artist actually takes part in this, you won’t get regular updates and it will be pointless to you.

Overall opinion – Another piece of content available on the free membership but with limited appeal unless an artist you are interested in engages with it.

So I heard you can get any song you want for free, how does this work?

I fell into this little trap when I first downloaded it, I spent so long trying to get my head round how Apple are possibly making a profit from allowing everyone to access every piece of music available all for free.

Well here’s the catch – you can download as much music as you want, put it on every Apple device you own and listen to it as much as you want, AS LONG as you are paying for your membership. As soon as that membership gets cancelled, wave goodbye to those songs because they are digital rights management protected and there is no way to keep them. They even get deleted off your devices so be forewarned and do not get too attached to your music.

Overall opinion – I totally understand why Apple has done this but you are essentially renting your music rather than buying it.

So my feeling about Apple Music in general: I’ll happily use the 3 month membership while it’s free and they’ve brought in some very appealing features but is it worth me paying £120 per year? Probably not. As someone who buys music but mainly in the form of CDs, and actually enjoys Radio 1 but isn’t overly fussed about radio in general, this isn’t particularly groundbreaking for me. It lacks the social aspect that Spotify provides for me and I’m constantly searching out new music from either friends or online without any problems so I don’t feel like I need Apple Music to do it for me.

My verdict – I’ll stick to Spotify for now.