An Apple a Day…

Apple has launched its own social network built inside the latest release of iTunes, iTunes 10. The application is described as a merger of Twitter, Facebook and iTunes. Although directly targeting two of the largest social networks, could this also kill other audio services like MySpace, Spotify and Last.fm?

The service allows users to follow their favourite artists and friends. By doing so they will be updated on what the artist is doing – including releases, shows and news. They will also be able to view what their friends have been listening to and purchasing.

In April Spotify released its social features allow using to connect their Spotify account with their Facebook. This allows friends to view what they have been listening to and the playlists they have created.

Last.fm, launched in 2002, allows users to share their listening habits and receive recommendations for what they might like to try. And the original music discovery website MySpace has lost half of its user base in the past 12 months; will this be the knock-out blow?

In December last year Apple purchased music streaming service Lala and closed it down. Since then unofficial Mac blogs and websites have speculated about a streaming service, but this move doesn’t contain that feature. Could be the next phase of this new more social iTunes?

You are still able to stream 30-second previews of songs you want to listen to, but this needs to change in order to compete with Spotify.

You’re also able to sync your iTunes account with your Facebook, so every time you purchase a song or concert ticket a story will appear on your mini-feed. Privacy issues are addressed by making sure you can accept or reject applications from other users to follow you.

The feature is available on every device that can run iTunes including iPhone and iPad.

iTunes is the most popular music download store on the internet in terms of number of downloads and number of users. Can this new service stop the growth or eliminate at least one of the other big music services?

I’d imagine this news will not go down well at MySpace HQ. They have recently spent time redesigning their site and moved away from their original audience: music lovers and unsigned bands. This move will definitely have a negative effect on the website, but not eliminate it completely. I imagine the younger audience (those unable to get a credit card) would still use the service to discover their local music scene.

Last.fm describes itself as an internet radio station. The more you share the more you get out of it. This announcement might slow down the site’s sign-ups but it will not have a major impact. Firstly it already has paying users, who are unlikely to change services unless Apple gives it away for free. Secondly the application offers a host of feedback methods on everything from singles, photos, videos, albums, artists etc.

Spotify is also a paid for service, with over 250,000 paying subscribers as of May 2010. The product offers full song streaming with virtually no buffer delay. This is a major feature that gives it a fighting edge over iTunes. I don’t think Spotify will be affected too much by this move as there is very little difference in price, quality of service or ease of use. If anything it might help Spotify, if they increase the number of tools and features available.