Apple could bring the fight to Spotify and Google Play Music with an iTunes music streaming service
Apple might be about to join the music streaming party. But is it too late?
Apple is reportedly in talks with labels over launching a music streaming service to rival the likes of Spotify, Google Play Music and Beats Music.
The rumour comes courtesy of Billboard, which goes onto state that Apple is even considering bringing an iTunes app to Android devices to help combat the slowdown in download sales.
Despite earning three times the revenue of streaming sales, download sales still dropped by around 2% last year, while streaming revenue shot up by 51%.
Apple has already launched iTunes Radio in Australia and the US, but it’s focused on automatically curated music discovery and recommendations, as opposed to letting you find and play specific tracks on demand.
Services like Spotify and Google Play Music offer unlimited ad-free streaming for £10 a month, and Apple will have to offer something rather special to tempt users away.
A price cut to £5 a month would certainly do the trick, and exclusives like The Beatles’ catalogue certainly can’t hurt.
The ability to upload your existing music to plug any gaps in Apple’s collection would also be a welcome feature, which is one of Google Play Music’s biggest strengths.
If the rumours about an Android launch are also true, then Apple’s reach will be even wider, increasing its chances of surviving in the ever-growing sea of streaming services.
It’s too early to tell whether or not these are anything more than whispers and rumours, but we’ll keep you updated with any more info as soon as we get it.
READ MORE: iTunes Radio will be huge, whether you like it or not
Esat Dedezade
Contributor 
