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If you love Apple Music but hate the thought of paying a monthly subscription for the service, well, don’t expect that to change. Apple has no plans on offering an ad-supported free tier of its music streaming service.
This news comes from Music Ally, who reported on a UK government hearing that looked at music streaming services and how fair they are to artists that put music on the platforms.
Obviously, Spotify was a big focus of this, with the company offering a free, ad-support tier and a premium tier. Elena Segal, Apple’s Global Senior Director of Music Publishing, was also present during the hearing, and it was here that Apple’s plans, or lack thereof, were laid out for Apple Music.
“We don’t think that an ad-supported service can generate enough revenue to support a healthy overall ecosystem. And it would also really go against our fundamental values on privacy,” notes Segal.
As far as fairness to artists, Segal also notes that Apple would consider looking a new ways to pay artists and rightsholders, noting, “[T]he key thing for us is there needs to be consensus among all licensors. It’s not a model you can apply to some licensors and not to others. Obviously the only way to reach consensus like that is to get together as an industry.”
Honestly, this isn’t terribly surprising. Apple is all about its subscription services these days and keeping the streaming platform free of ads also goes along with its recent privacy push.
Have any thoughts on this? Would you want to see a free tier for Apple Music? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
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