The service will also be available for Android (which holds a 70 percent market share in China) later this fall.
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Launching with millions of songs in its catalog, Apple Music in China features music from artists including Eason Chan, Li Ronghao, JJ Lin and G.E.M., as well as a wide range of worldwide artists including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and many more.
But Apple will face the real challenge once the free period is over as users are not only price sensitive, but also have easy access to pirated content. As Apple is a late entrant, the local players have already captured most of the paid market.
Speaking of success…is Apple Music all-that-it’s-hyped-up-to-be successful?
This is definitely strategic pricing because Google’s biggest competitor, Apple, has their streaming service priced the exact same: six family members for $14.99 a month. It also lets adults keep tabs on what their children are buying, allowing them to approve or reject purchases to stop kids spending money on their parent’s devices.
The service also learns what users like and offers a variety of playlists – many of which are curated by an expert team giving the service a human touch.
Apple generously offered music fans a whole quarter of a year to try out its Music app in a bid to tempt possible customers away from the competition – or Spotify, as its generally known.
The announcement by Apple implies that Apple’s entertainment ecosystem will henceforth be accessible by customers in China, for the first time. The service will include American blockbusters as well as Chinese hits, with the recent Chinese film The Taking of Tiger Mountain included for free to Chinese customers who use the service soon. The Twilight books will be available in Chinese language on iBooks.
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Just what sort of restrictions – if any – such a family plan will have remains to be seen, but it does seem likely there will be a few drawbacks. Either way, you will need to ensure that you won’t be charged the moment your free three-month Apple Music trial ends. Apple Music requires initial sign up. In addition to offering free titles, paid iBooks will start at 0.5 CNY, less than $0.08.
