SAN FRANCISCO — What exactly is Apple Music, anyway?
A lot of people left the Apple WWDC developers' conference wondering just that after Apple previewed its new music subscription and radio service Monday. Is Apple Music, set to debut June 30, Apple's answer to Spotify? Or Pandora? Is iTunes Radio, the new service Apple launched in 2013 at the same conference, now dead?
After Apple made its case to the crowd at WWDC, several reviews were not kind:
-- "One of the sloppiest debuts for any new product or service from the company," said Business Insider.
-- "Apple Music is a major mess," said Mashable.
-- Engadget said it "feels like a mish-mosh of disparate elements the company thinks we might want."
OK, so what is Apple Music? To answer these questions, Apple invited select journalists for private one-on-one time with the reconstituted app Monday. Under the usual Apple rules, photos, video, quotes and note taking were prohibited.
So here's what I can tell you:
-- On June 30, a new iOS software update will be available. Download it, and the new Apple Music tab will appear on the front screen of your iPhone.
-- The Red music tab on the front page of the iPhone will turn white. Open the music tab now and you'll see your downloads, categorized by albums and songs, along with tabs for other features like iTunes Radio.
When the new Apple Music kicks in, the computer-generated iTunes Radio is gone, replaced by the human programmed Beats One Radio, a 24/7 free, curated, live radio station with celebrity DJs such as Zane Lowe, who will broadcast from London, New York and Los Angeles.
Like iTunes Radio, this service is free.
