Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
The ongoing discussions of Apple Music’s place in the industry have pulled out a range of opinions.
The London editor of MediaPost considers Apple’s chances of success, saying there’s a chance the new service can take subscription share from Spotify, especially if artists prefer distributing on a platform which does not offer free (and lower-margin) listening, as Spotify does. Sean Hargrave calls it “weeding out the free riders.”
From a more scientific angle, Bridge Ratings surveyed consumers about their levelof interest in Apple Music (and separately, Beats 1, a portion of the overall service). Predictably, consumers with a history of buying music and music services expressed greater interest. The study is called Apple Music Prospect.
Re/Code has another insightful opinion piece from the music industry, this one questioning who that industry really includes. Jeffrey C. Smith, founder and CEO of mobile music company Smule, wrote about the drastic changes in the business side of music over recent years, especially with the advent of streaming and other online platforms.