The really good sounding subscription
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There are around 50 million songs in the Apple Music digital library and you can listen to all of them ad-free, even offline.
For the past four years, users of Apple Music, the service by the technology giant Apple, have been able to enjoy unlimited music for just a few euros a month. The music service does have some competition, for example from Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, or Google Play Music, but Apple is relying on its wide selection of music and the fact that it will work on pretty much any device, not just the ones marked with the Apple logo.
The price of subscribing to Apple Music depends on your status: students pay 3 euros, regular subscription is 6 euros, and members of a family bundle pay a total of 9 euros per month.
With streaming services, it is crucial that the content that the users »rent« is original. By subscribing, you are therefore not only supporting the service provider, but also the musicians and their art. In this regard, Apple Music is even somewhat exclusive, because it makes occasional arrangements with artists who only make their songs available in the Apple music library.
Apple Music offers users around 50 million songs in digital format, collected into various catalogues. Subscribers download them to their devices, after which they can listen to the music even when they’re not connected to the internet. The service allows for up to 100,000 songs to be downloaded into a user’s library.
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Apple offers a three-month trial period for all who are not completely convinced that a few euros a month is worth the service. If during that time you get used to your personal music companion and advisor, you have several subscription options, depending on your status: students get access for three euros a month, »average Joes« get it for six euros a month, but if there are more music fans in your family, the family subscription definitely offers the best value; it costs nine euros a month and provides access to six different users. Each of the family members have their own individual account, used to control what and when – if anything – to share with the others.
By subscribing to Apple Music, users can play the exact song they want to hear in that precise moment. However if they are not completely sure what musical mood they’re in, they can always use Apple’s »curator« which creates a personalised music playlist based on past preferences in a special catalogue named, For You. Each Friday, subscribers also receive a music mix inspired by the music they listen to most often.
Apple entered the music business in 2001, with the music player iPod, and added the online music store, iTunes a year later, which was joined by Apple Music in 2015.
For similarly musically-undecided moments, Apple Music also offers catalogues not classified by artists or genre, but depending on the occasion that requires musical accompaniment: music for yoga, ambient music, music to help with focus, to help you calm down... You can also create playlists for different occasions, for example visits by friends, for entertainment, a child’s birthday, running, or a busy working afternoon.
With Apple Music, you can also watch music videos and concert videos, as well as access Apple’s radio station, Beats 1 live. The latter is a part of the service that is not a part of the music package of any of Apple’s competitors.
And even though you cannot put the subscription on a bookshelf, Apple Music can still become your very own music encyclopaedia. You can browse artists you are interested in, get to know their most important work, latest releases (even by getting notifications), collaborations with other musicians, and more. You can search for music, based on your current inspiration, discover it through your friends’ playlists, rely on general popularity, captured in global top lists, or simply follow your curious ear and let it take you through musical genres and its artists.
There’s an abundance of reasons to become a member of the now 56 million-strong community, which will let you exercise your vocal cords, not only in the shower, but anywhere you may find yourself. Apple Music will be with you wherever, whenever.