Apple to Shut Down Beats Music on November 30
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The music streaming service known as Beats Music will finally meet its demise on November 30th.
The service officially launched in January of 2014, and featured personalized playlists based on users’ listening habits as well as curation from expert music curators. The service was famously bought by Apple in May of 2014, along with the Beats Electronics brand, for $3 billion.
The service’s demise was just a matter of time, as Apple used a combination of the technology found in Beats Music and in iTunes to launch Apple Music in June of this year. On November 30th, all remaining subscriptions to Beats Music will be canceled, and the service will shut down entirely.
The shut-down of Beats Music has been a long time coming. Shortly after the launch of Apple Music, an update to the Beats Music app included a “migration assistant” that allowed users to seamlessly export playlists and saved music from artists and albums from Beats Music to the new Apple Music service. Just yesterday, an updated Beats Music support page as well as an email sent out to Sonos confirmed the cancellation of the service, with the Sonos email promising that Apple Music “is coming soon to Sonos.”
Both the support page and emails encourage users to migrate their current Beats Music subscriptions over to Apple Music before November 30th, at which point all Beats Music subscriptions will be canceled.
News of the cancellation comes right on the heels of the official Apple Music release on Android. Both the iOS and Android apps currently carry all of the functionality of the Beats Music platform, but with several added features, including Beats 1, the 24-hour online radio station. Beats executive, Dale Bagwell, stated yesterday “All the pros that curated music for you are still crafting more amazing experiences. Plus, on Apple Music, you’ll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more.”
The Beats Music app contains a migration assistant that makes the switch a painless process for users who have yet to do so. Users of the soon-to-be-defunct service are even treated to the same free three-month trial as new Apple Music users. Beats Music users are encouraged to migrate before November 30th to ensure that everything was ported over properly before the service is shut down.
