iPhone Mobile Phone Apps: You May Soon Be Able to Download iOS Apps on Android, Plus Apple Considers Besting Spotify, Pandora, YouTube With Streaming Service
The technology giant may start addressing its recent economic issues by going against mantras established by the company's founder.
With competition gaining the upper hand, Apple must do something to increase music sales as well as its influence among potential consumers. To achieve this, Apple executives are moving to revamp and create apps to rival the competition.
Apple has refused to make its apps available on Android and other non-iOS platforms. Its competitor, Google, on the other hand has made its apps available on all platforms, widening their consumer base, but according to Billboard, the iPhone manufacturer may be changing its policies to catch up with the rest. in response to declining downloads in the United States, compared to the rise in streaming services revenues.
Billboard reports that streaming services like Spotify, YouTube and Pandora have shown a 39 percent increase since 2012, generating $1.4 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, Apple has seen a drop of 3.2 percent in download sales, leading to revenues of $2.9 billion. To remedy their losses, Apple is considering making the iTunes store available for Android as well as creating their own music streaming app.
With Apple accounting for 40 percent of US recorded music revenue, according to Billboard, their decision could impact the industry. An initial plan would allow iTunes users to download whole albums before they are released in CD form, only allowing individual song downloads once the CD is released.
Still, the move to make apps available in other platforms and devising their own streaming app would come at the cost of going against tradition.
Steve Jobs argued that fans would never want to subscribe to music and never attempted to device a way to pursue that business. Yet, executives have begun talks with music industry heads to make the addition.
"They are feeling out some people at labels on thoughts about transitioning its customers from iTunes proper to a streaming service," one major label source told Billboard. "So when you buy a song for $1.29, and you put it in your library, iTunes might send an e-mail pointing out that for a total of, say, $8 a month you can access that song plus all the music in the iTunes store. It's all in the 'what if' stage."