Apple is reportedly considering a subscription bundle for Apple Music and its streaming service Apple TV Plus, but the music industry is worried it will lose money on the deal (AAPL)
- Apple is considering packaging Apple Music and the upcoming Apple TV Plus as a combined subscription, according to a new report from the Financial Times.
- Apple Music is currently available for $10 a month, and Apple TV Plus will launch on November 1 for $5 per month. Apple also offers Apple News Plus for $10 per month, and Apple Arcade, a subscription video game service, for $5 per month.
- While combining the services could provide savings for Apple customers, music industry executives are reportedly concerned that a cheaper subscription package would lead to less revenue from Apple Music streaming.
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Apple TV Plus hasn't launched yet, but Apple has already considered packaging its on-demand video service with its streaming music service, Apple Music.
A new report from Anna Nicolaou and Patrick McGee of the Financial Times says that Apple has entered into talks with the music industry to make a subscription bundle a reality, but record labels are concerned that they will lose revenue from the deal.
Apple Music is a $10 monthly subscription, though Apple customers who buy an iPhone, iPad or Mac get one year of the service for free. Apple TV Plus will launch on November 1 for $5 per month, and will feature original TV shows, movies, and documentaries. Earlier this year, Apple launched Apple News Plus for $10 per month, and the $5 per month Apple Arcade, a subscription video game service.
While Apple has not formally announced any plans to combine its growing list of subscription services, a discounted bundle would provide additional value to dedicated customers. However, the Financial Times report suggests that music industry executives are wary of accepting a deal that would lead to lower revenue shares from Apple Music streaming.
According to the Financial Times, the music industry's skepticism goes back to the early days of Apple's iTunes store, when former Apple CEO Steve Jobs leveraged access to the growing digital marketplace to get record labels to agree to a price of $0.99 per song.
The music industry has benefitted from the advent of streaming music service, but licensing negotiations remain a point of tension between streaming platforms and record labels. Industry executives told the Financial Times that Apple Music currently offers a more favorable rate of revenue sharing than Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service.
Read the full story from the Financial times here.
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