When Apple launches a product, it’s an instant sensation. Think the iPad, various iPhone updates and even the recent Apple Watch.

The culture isn’t salivating over Apple Music, though, as it does with the new iPhone Fill-in-the-Blank. The company’s entry into the crowded music-streaming field hit the market late last month. The timing is suspect for a number of reasons. Jay-Z’s recent attempt to launch his own music streaming service, Tidal, proved calamitous.

Close

Singer Taylor Swift’s attack on Apple Music for not paying artists royalties for its first free months of service gave Apple a rare social bruise. And four prominent artists — Bob Seger, Tool, Def Leppard and Garth Brooks — have decided against sharing some or all of their music with the service.

No company can stay at the top forever, even if Apple’s recent history suggests otherwise.

And then there’s Apple Music itself, which must instantly compete with not just Tidal but Pandora, Spotify, Rdio and a number of other streaming services. No company can stay at the top forever, even if Apple’s recent history suggests otherwise.

So far, critics aren’t uniformly singing the service’s praises. The responses have been mixed, with some applauding the service’s curated options while wondering if it offers enough bells and whistles to crush the competition.

Apple Music is free or the first three months, but users must pony up $9.99 per month after that.
[lz_virool paragraph=”5″]