5 years old and 30 million tunes richer, Apple Music still rocks
Favorite features include Siri as a search tool, tailored playlists
Apple Music, for those who have been living under a rock, is Apple’s subscription music service. For a few bucks a month you can stream or download any (or all) of 60 million songs to almost any Apple device.
I’ve been an Apple Music subscriber since the day it launched in 2015. After having it for less than a month I wrote a column I called “Apple Music Rocks,” and professed my love for Apple Music.
Now, five years later, I love Apple Music twice as much. That makes total sense given there were only 30 million songs then, and twice as many (60 million) today.
My favorite feature is the way Siri is deeply ingrained in Apple Music, allowing me to hear almost any song I can think of just by asking. And Siri does much more than play songs or albums by name — she can parse requests such as, “Play the number one song in April 1966,” or, “Play the best songs from 1977.” (If you’re curious, the former was, The Ballad of the Green
Berets by SSgt Barry Sadler, and the latter included Tonight’s the Night by Rod Stewart, Telephone
Line by Electric Light Orchestra, Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet, and dozens more.)
Another thing I love is the “For You” section in the Music app on your Mac and iDevices, where you’ll find human-curated playlists as well as albums and artists Apple Music thinks you’ll like. With the exception of Pandora, no other music service has consistently recommended music I enjoy; Apple Music gets it right almost every time.
Almost every playlist, artist and album the For You section has suggested to me was a playlist, artist or song I liked. And while I own more than 15,000 songs and have made more than 100 playlists, I listen to music suggested in my For You section way more than I listen to music I own.
Finally, I love that I can explore genres of music outside my comfort zone, which (as you probably know) is classic rock ‘n’ roll. I read somewhere that Baroque music is better for focusing on work, so I often ask Siri to play some Baroque music while I work, and find it soothing.
I also like jazz and blues, though I don’t know many jazz or blues songs (or artists) by name. I just ask Siri to play, “soft jazz” or “old-time blues,” and I’m rarely disappointed by whatever plays.
Apple offers a threemonth free trial; after that it’s $4.99 a month for students; $9.99 a month for a single user; or $14.99 a month for a family of up to six users. If you’re not already a subscriber, give it a try. If you love music, you’ll love Apple Music.