As Apple seeks to bolster its subscription service to compete with Spotify, the company is adding exclusive performances from artists, who will be able to use Apple’s studios to cover classics and recreate their own hits.
On Friday, the company introduced Apple Music Sessions, featuring content from singers including Carrie Underwood and Tenille Townes. Both recorded their performances at Apple Music’s new studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
“We had a lot of fun reimagining these big, visual songs and presenting them in a different way,” Underwood said in Apple’s press release.
While Spotify boasts exclusive podcasts, Apple Music has several streaming radio stations, surround sound that works with the company’s headphones and deep integration with Apple products. The company is trying to lure users to its monthly subscription offering, which competes with Spotify, Amazon Music and other services.
Investors like Apple’s services business because it has higher margins than hardware products and is more predictable, with revenue coming in on a recurring basis. Sales in the services unit, which also includes iCloud storage, warranties, search engine licensing and payments, jumped 27% in fiscal 2021 to $68 billion.
Apple Music was the company’s first recurring content subscription offering. It’s now part of a content bundle called Apple One, which uses Apple’s more popular services like Music to generate interest in growing products like Apple TV+. It costs $15 a month for an individual user.
Apple Music Sessions kicked off in Nashville with a number of country artists. The company said it plans to expand the series to other genres.
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