Apple ‘to bundle Beats into future iOS versions’

NEW YORK — Apple’s plans for Beats, the company it acquired for US$3 billion (S$3.91 billion) in August, are coming into sharper focus.
Apple intends to include its Beats subscription music service in future versions of iOS, its mobile software system for iPhones and iPads, said people briefed on the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Financial Times reported that the bundling of the service could happen as early as March.

The move will mark Apple’s first big push into subscription music, at a time when downloads from its iTunes are in decline.
Behind the scenes, Apple is also working to make the streaming music service cheaper for consumers.
It has begun discussions with record labels over new licensing terms that will allow it to drop the monthly subscription price for Beats Music to as low as US$5 a month, down from US$10, said executives briefed on those talks. So far, labels have balked at that request, seeking a slightly higher price, said the sources.
The price of subscription music plans has become a debated topic in the music industry, with some analysts saying that US$10 a month is simply more than most casual listeners are willing to pay. Estimates of the average listener’s annual spending on music vary, but are usually around US$40 to US$55 a year.
Record companies and artistes have also recently shown frustration with the amount of free music that is available on services such as Spotify and YouTube. This month, Taylor Swift removed her music from Spotify, apparently because the service would not limit her music only to its paying subscribers. And this week, a top executive at Sony Music suggested at an investor conference that the company was taking a hard look at the finances of free services.
In September, when Apple released iOS 8, the latest version of its software system, the lack of a Beats Music app was a noticeable omission. Including the app is an obvious step in bringing more attention about the streaming music service to Apple’s hundreds of millions of mobile-device customers.
It is probable that Apple will roll the product into its iTunes product, as opposed to retaining the Beats Music brand.
Beats has a headphone business, too, which Apple also acquired. The branding for the headphone business is unlikely to be discontinued because it already has a large market of customers, analysts said. AGENCIES