Apple Music expands to 52 new countries, with six-month free trial
Apple Music has been expanded to 52 additional countries and territories in a push to broaden service revenue streams for the iPhone maker, the company said Tuesday.
The move, section of the biggest expansion of Apple services in ten years, brings Apple Music to a total of 167 markets, including 25 new African countries added Tuesday.
Costs will range between only $3 to $11 monthly, with a six-month trial offer period in the brand new countries.
The expansion ramps up the global existence of Apple Music, which includes some 60 million subscribers, in its duel against market leader Spotify, which includes more than 120 million paid users but is available in fewer markets all over the world.
Apple as well announced an expansion to 20 new markets of its other services, including its App Store, the Apple Arcade gaming service, Apple Podcasts and iCloud.
With the rollout, Apple services will be accessible in 175 countries around the world.
As yet, Apple customers in elements of the world had access to some free programs and services because of their devices without an chance of paid subscriptions.
Music and other services will be available with interfaces in at least 40 languages supported by Apple.
More services, fewer iPhones
The California tech giant has been shifting its focus away from the iPhone-the longtime earnings and profit leader for the company-to what's considered a steadier financial stream in digital content and services including music, digital payments and apps.
Amid a softer smartphone market, Apple’s iPhone makes up about only around half of its revenues, while new services and accessories are showing gains.
“We’re delighted to bring a lot of Apple’s most beloved services to users in more countries than ever before,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president for music and international content.
“We hope our customers can discover their new favorite apps, games, music and podcasts as we continue steadily to celebrate the world’s best creators, artists and developers.”
Apple’s iCloud and other services were being expanded to eight additional African countries, two in the Asia-Pacific region, five in Europe, two in the centre East and three in Oceania.
Apple has been doing work for some time on the expansion, but the move comes as consumers all over the world are facing lockdowns and spending additional time on their devices.
Apple Music holds about 19 percent of the global music streaming market, weighed against 35 percent for Spotify and 15 percent for Amazon, according to Counterpoint Research.
The streaming music service has some 60 million songs and will be offering curated playlists plus a Beats 1 radio station.
