SAN FRANCISCO�Kind of a big week for Apple, with WWDC going on in San Francisco.� However, perhaps more importantly, they introduced a new streaming music service, to be known as Apple Music, during the conference.� Let�s take a look at the important aspects of this new service:
������� Part of the music service is the Beats 1�worldwide radio station, which will be run by Zane Lowe and “broadcast” live 24/7 from NYC, L.A., and London, programmed by a “team of experts.”
������� The global radio station is also Siri-activated, which can do requests such as “Play the top-10 songs in Alternative” to “Play the top-10 songs of 1982.”
������� You can stream music anytime and on demand
������� It will include Apple Connect, which connects fans with artists, new and unsigned artists as well as superstars
������� Offers playlists based on the music you listen to
������� Cost for Apple Music is free for the first three months, then costs $9.99/month individually or $14.99/month for a family of six separate accounts.� It will be available starting June 30 in over 100 countries.
To me this sounds like a very data-intensive service.� Well, turns out that Apple is sinking billions of dollars in to data center improvements, and connectivity improvements, in order to accommodate the new service (and others I�m sure�such as TV.� That�s coming soon.)
Apple has relied on traditional network providers and technology suppliers to support consumer services such as iTunes for music and movies; iCloud for storing photos and other content; and Siri, the voice-activated assistant. Apple will stick with most of its existing vendors, but it seeking to bolster its current infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.�
Apple is planning on strengthening its cloud infrastructure by building out faster networks and upgrading its data centers. From Bloomberg: �While Apple hasn�t disclosed total costs, investments will run into the billions. Apple put $1 billion into data centers last year, according to Analysys, which pegged it as the seventh-largest cloud infrastructure spender in 2014.�
�…Apple isn�t expected to replace the hundreds of thousands of servers and other machines in its current data centers, but will use more of its own gear as it builds new facilities. Earlier this year, Apple said it would spend $3.9 billion on new data centers in Arizona, Ireland and Denmark.�
