While Spotify offers both a free, ad-supported tier, and a premium version for its streaming music service, don't expect Apple Music to do the same any time soon.
As reported by Musically, via 9to5Mac, Apple's Global Senior Director of Music Publishing, Elena Segal, told a committee that doing so is not something Apple is interested in pursuing---not least because it would potentially hurt Apple's strong focus on user privacy.
"We don't think that an ad-supported service can generate enough revenue to support a healthy overall ecosystem," Segal said in a UK government hearing, designed to probe the economic side of streaming music, and whether this is fair to artists. Segal continued that an ad-supported tier would also, "really go against our fundamental values on privacy."
Questions About Apple Music Royalties
At the hearing, Segal---who was quizzed alongside representatives from Spotify and Amazon Music---also chimed in on the question of whether a stream represents a sale or a rental. While this is a technicality, it has a big potential impact on how royalties are split.
Segal said: "I see it as a license. We have a right, we have licenses that entitle us to sub-license to consumers… and that's always been true with music … It was the sale of a license, I would say. This [streaming] is a subscription to a license. I would say it's more akin to a rental."
She noted that Apple would be interested in looking at new ways to pay artists in the future, but said that this needs to be done with "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."
In addition, she shot down concerns that Apple forces owners of its HomePod smart speaker to use Apple Music by pointing out that Apple now allows other services to be set as default.
No Ad-Supported Options
While some of these points, particularly around royalties, could have implications further down the line, for now the most notable bit of news coming out of the hearing involves the Apple Music free tier---or lack thereof.
The closest thing Apple Music currently comes to a free tier is the free trial that users can take advantage of before signing up for an Apple Music paid subscription.
The idea that a free Apple Music tier is seemingly never going to be on the cards might be disappointing for some would-be users. Nonetheless, it's very much in keeping with Apple's business model of charging a premium, and eschewing ad-supported freemium products in its offerings.
