Apple Music launches streaming service in China; contends with freebie mentality

Apple Music has come to China and it's charging rates that are a lot cheaper than those in the U.S. It launched the service Wednesday along with iTunes Movies and iBooks.

Apple Music starts in China with a three-month free trial before charging subscribers 10 yuan ($1.57) a month by 2016. The price is less than a sixth of what U.S. subscribers pay for the service. There’s also a family plan in China that provides the service for 15 yuan ($2.35) for up to six members that have individual accounts, said Xinhua.

Chinese customers can also download some of the latest Hollywood hit movies and many Chinese movies from the iTunes Store. Apple Music users can rent Chinese- and English-language movies starting from 5 yuan ($0.80) each, said Bloomberg.

Analysts feel it will take time for Apple Music to seize a sizeable market share in China. This because the Chinese aren’t used to pay services because most movies and songs are available for free online. Apple Music was introduced in over 100 countries last June.

This fact will prove a massive challenge for the subscription-based Apple Music. Despite this, Apple is upbeat on the prospects for Apple Music.

"We think the price of 10 RMB is hard to beat for all the music and all the sensational products like radio, movies and books," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.

Cue pointed out that Apple wants to be very competitive in China. Apple is banking on its unique cloud music library and its ability to sync and save a user's spot in a song when switching between devices.

Apple Music’s competition in China will be formidable. Baidu, China's leading search engine, has Baidu Music while e-commerce giant Alibaba has the music service, Xiami. Social network and online gaming company Tencent signed a deal with Sony in December 2014 to jointly promote digital music services in China.

“For the first time, customers in China will have access to Apple’s entertainment ecosystem with music, movies and books right at their fingertips,” Apple said in a statement issued Wednesday.

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