I suppose it was probably inevitable that the ubiquitous Beats By Dr. Dre brand would eventually get into the lucrative but supersaturated Cloud Music market, but my reaction nonetheless was both "really?!" and "really?". Putting aside personal feelings on what the brand has done within the last 10 years to both ignite and destroy the popular audio accessories craze - is Beats Music, as the service is called, a new, creative twist on an existing concept, or just an also-ran hoping to cash in on a brand name?
Beats' foray began when it acquired the already extant service MOG in 2012, which should've tipped most anyone off that this service would be in the works. Currently, Beats Music has a catalogue of 20 million songs from all major record companies, which is right up there with all the other major services. What really seems to separate it from the competition is its emphasis on human-based song recommendations. While Beats still uses computer algorithms (like the others) to source recommendations, it also combines this with human curation and playlists from real music professionals. Although Google Play Music also offers hand-curated radio stations from "experts," the process seems to be more integrated with Beats. A second important difference is what Beats calls "The Sentence." The Sentence allows a user to fill in four gaps in a sentence which effectively describes your current activity, mood, and desired music genre, and Beats Music will return suggestions. While Sony's Music Unlimited also lets you choose music based on your mood, Beats' take seems to be more original and in-depth. I can't personally say how well it works, but it's a very interesting concept. Not only that, but the artist recommendations that Beats makes will automatically prioritize that artist's most important albums, maximizing the chances of you fully appreciating that artist.
I haven't seen anything official, but unofficial reports suggest music streams at (or at least up to) 320 kbps MP3, which places it at or near the top of the heap in terms of sound quality. The service will be accessible via Web interface, iPhone, Android, and Windows apps. Again, I haven't used the service yet, but all appearances suggest that the apps' UI is beautiful and functional. Which brings us to the cons - firstly, you only get a 7-day trial, compared to the standard 14- or even 30-day trial periods the others offer. This is a very brief time to decide whether you want to keep a service that is subscription only with no free version. Pricing is a familiar $10/month, and while you can pay annually, there is no discount for doing so, unlike with XBox Music. Additionally, your subscription only grants you access on a mere three devices, whereas my Google Play Music All Access pass grants me access on ten.
Interestingly, things become far more appealing if you happen to be an AT&T wireless subscriber. If you are, you get up to 90 days free (likely that won't last forever), and although the same $10/month subscription applies, you could choose a family plan instead which allows access for up to 5 people on ten devices. I would have to imagine that the generous 90-day trial period will eventually disappear while the family plan will roll out to everybody else. It's also worth pointing out that there's no integration with your existing music library as far as I can tell. You'll have to decide for yourself how important that is to you.
Beats Music is an intriguing offering, and the company has put forth some genuinely creative music discovery tools. Couple that with a beautiful UI, good music streaming quality, and attractive pricing for AT&T subscribers, and you have a compelling offer. However, I don't see anything groundbreaking here, and I'm not sure that Beats will be able to pull away significant amounts of customers from other services. Still, it's worth at least a 7-day look if you haven't already subscribed to a competitor.
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