As many had anticipated, Apple is finally to show what its acquisition of Beats has largely been about, after Sony Music’s CEO Doug Morris confirmed that Apple’s music-streaming service will launch at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
Just over a year ago, Apple’s purchase of Beats for a cool US$3bn was seen as a sound investment for a company that had yet to show it had what it took to launch a music-streaming service or music hardware of the same ilk as the brand developed by Dr Dre, and now it is coming to fruition.
The impending launch of the tech giant’s music-streaming service on 9 June at WWDC was confirmed by Morris, who will be heavily invested in the launch of Apple’s service and, given its financial and credibility power over consumers, he believes it will inevitably end up being quite successful.
“It’s happening tomorrow,” Morris said speaking to VentureBeat. “What does Apple bring to this? Well, they’ve got US$178bn in the bank. And they have 800 million credit cards in iTunes. Spotify has never really advertised because it’s never been profitable.”
No doubt keeping one eye on the market as a whole, however, Morris also said that he believes Apple’s clout will be so large following its launch that it’s bound to have a knock-on effect on the entire music streaming industry, including Jay Z’s Tidal, which is struggling to attract the numbers it had expected to.
“My guess is that Apple will promote this like crazy and I think that will have a halo effect on the streaming business,” Morris said. “A rising tide will lift all boats. It’s the beginning of an amazing moment for our industry.”
Apple Music on iPhone image via Shutterstock
