Beats to launch streaming music service January 21
Rumblings about a new streaming music service from Beats Audio have been around for quite a while (here’s a post from February 2012 about it), and we most recently heard more about it in Q4 2013. An official teaser page also launched last month, asking users to claim a username. And now we finally have an official launch date: January 21, 2014.
Beats Music will be priced at $9.99/month per month, with playlists curated by “music experts,” no ads, and personalized radio stations. Users will be able to “love” or “hate” songs (instead of the more traditional thumbs up or thumbs down), and users will also be able to share their own playlists via Facebook and Twitter. There will also be music discovery options and the ability to play music tracks offline.
Beats is currently boasting a catalog of more than 20 million tracks, making it competitive with the likes of Google Play Music All Access and Spotify. Apps will be available for Android and iOS, along with compatibility for desktops.
Interestingly, AT&T users will pay a bit more for the service – $14.99/month – but their accounts can be shared across an entire AT&T family plan, with up to 5 individuals across a maximum of 10 devices. The AT&T service will launch several days later on January 24.
Beats will provide everyone with a 30 day free trial (90 days for AT&T customers), so it won’t cost anything to try it out. The streaming music space is already pretty crowded, so it will be interesting to see how Beats will ultimately set itself apart from the rest. In any case, competition is always a good thing, so I welcome this with open arms.
[Business Wire via Android Community]
