We’ve known for a while now that Beats was preparing to launch its own music streaming service in order to take on Spotify, Google Play Music, Xbox Music and the many other competitors in this space. Late last night, the service finally went live.
The new Beats Music service is available for Android, iOS, Windows Phone and even the web browser for $9.99 — though only for those in the U.S. Unlike many of its rivals, there is no free ad-supported version of Beats Music, though there is a free 7-day trial. If you’re an AT&T customer, you actually get a 90 day trial and there is also an optional family plan that will allow up to 5 people on 10 devices to use the service for just $14.99.
The real question is whether or not Beats Music is a worthy alternative to more established streaming services. The answer to that probably comes down to what you’re looking for, feature-wise. With a library of more than 20 million songs, Beats certainly isn’t lacking in the songs department but the real magic is said to some of its special features like ‘just for you’ and ‘the sentence’.
The real question is whether or not Beats Music is a worthy alternative to more established streaming services.
The former of these features is a mix of albums and playlists that have been handpicked by Beats music specialists and sent your way based on your own preferences. To figure out what you like, Beats also has a pretty cool system in place when you first sign up that involves selecting genres and bands you like from a vast array of “bubbles”.
As for the latter option, the Sentence is designed to match songs with your mood or what you’re currently doing. This includes filling out a form that makes it clear you’re in the mood for sad break-up songs or upbeat dance grooves.Of course there are also options that allow you to directly choose an artist/song, and a search system designed to let you create ‘the perfect playlist’ based on genre, activity and more. Finally, there’s even a social component where you can share your favorite tracks, playlists and more with folks on Beats Music, Facebook and Twitter.
It’s still unclear whether or not Beats Music has what it takes to be a major success, though we admit the service looks interesting enough. For those looking to try the service out, you can now grab the official app directly from Google Play.
So how about it, anyone interested in giving Beats Music a try or are you already satisfied with your existing service?
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