Apple Denies Plans to Shut Down Beats Music

The fact that Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats was the largest in the company’s history makes one wonder why it is being suggested that they may close down Beats Music, the streaming service associated with the brand.

Technology website TechCrunch first reported that reliable sources at Apple had revealed that there were plans to shut down Beats Music because of its poor performance since its launch in January.

The report picked up quite a bit of traction on the internet causing Apple to release a statement debunking the story.

when asked whether Apple would shut down the Beats Music service, Apple spokesman, Tom Neumayr said, “this is not true.”

The New York Times has revealed that Wall Street experts and industry analysts have suggested that Beats Music will be incorporated into iTunes thereby allowing Apple to tap into an ever increasing streaming market.

Getting a firm footing into the music streaming business, through integration of Beats Music into iTunes, would be a strategic move for the company. The fact is that music downloads, which have been a cash cow for Apple, have been on the decline. Digital music sales fell 13.3 percent in 2013, while U.S. streaming grew 32 percent.

Apple’s actions in the last couple of months has caused observers to question whether or not Beats Music is a part of the company’s strategy to dominate the digital music industry.

For one, Beats Music was not pre-loaded on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus which sold over 10 million units within a week of being released. Surely if Apple wanted to push Beats Music, this would have been the perfect platform on which to do so. Additionally at the launch of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, reported on by the Inquisitr, no mention was made of Beats Music or any plans for a Beats Music app. If these events were not enough to send off red flags to industry observers then the reassignment of Beats CEO, Ian Rogers to iTunes Radio has alerted them to the fact that something is amiss.

Beats Music’s performance has not been impressive. But why is this so, given that the Beats brand is so popular?

TechCrunch writer, Josh Constine explains.

“Beats Music’s growth has likely been hampered by its late start compared to competitors like Spotify, Rdio, Google Music, and Pandora… 5 million people had tried Beats by May, but only 250,000 had signed up for a paid subscription.”

Only time will tell what Apple has planned for Beats Music but based on prior experience it’s not difficult to connect the dots. Apple certainly didn’t hesitate to shut down music streaming service Lala after acquiring it.

[Photo credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images]