As a long term Spotify user I have only once had second thoughts about monthly renewals. That was this week.
When Apple Music first launched in Australia it was natural that I jumped onto the trial and gave it a whirl. Naturally their music library was extensive, worked perfectly on my iPhone – better than Spotify due to the deeper integration but after the trial I went back to Spotify. It may have been a combination of the Spotify app experience on PC, Mac and iOS being simpler than Apple Music that kept me going back. I was asked recently about why I still use Spotify, especially now Apple Music works on Sonos (which was a barrier before). I didn’t have an answer, it just wasn’t a necessary switch.
What about the news from this week…
Apple has revealed that two TV shows are coming to Apple Music, not sure if the name needs an update now, but this is something that the likes of Spotify do not do. Imagine a world where Spotify and Netflix merged and you paid one streaming fee for all you can eat music and video? Is that the end game here for Apple? It would change things in a big way.
The two new shows will not be enough to crush Netflix or Stan but it is enough to make me sit up and listen. The two shows coming to Apple Music is the popular Carpool Karaoke but the one I am most excited about it Planet of the Apps.
Planet of the Apps is a mix of Shark Tank and The Voice. Entrepreneurs pitch their idea to a panel who can help coach and guide them through development and potential VC funding. The most exciting bit is that the panel of coaches include:
- will.i.am
- Jessica Alba
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- Gary Vaynerchuk
All four are successful entrepreneurs in their own areas, the one person in that list that may be new to you however is Gary Vaynerchuk. I’ve known about Gary for over 10 years when he was running a wine business and making wine videos on YouTube. Now he runs Vaynermedia, a successful marketing agency and is extremely vocal about business across all forms of social media. While the fame of the other three coaches will be valuable, I’ll be interested to see how a partnership with Gary progresses in this show. Gary is extremely charismatic, speaks raw and with fire, has grown successful business, does investing of his own including Uber and Tumblr and seems to never sleep. If you don’t know him, a search online makes it very easy.
As Apple adds more shows to “Apple Music” it will be interesting to see the key shows which pull Spotify users across. It is early days yet but for me it is already tempting. I’m happily waiting for the day when I can pay one monthly fee for video and audio, Apple and Google are the only companies currently ready to do that if they wanted. Who wants my money?
