Apple Prime? Giant bundle of entertainment services under consideration

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Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+
Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+ could all be part of “Apple Prime.”
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly mulling offering all its entertainment services in one giant bundle as a sort of “Apple Prime.” If true, then a single subscription would include the company’s music, video, and gaming services

This news is apparently leaking from music-industry executive who aren’t thrilled with the idea.

“Apple Prime” could be a thing

The idea of an Amazon Prime-style service has been around for at least a year. “We think Apple should launch a subscription bundle as a way to reinforce iPhone loyalty and leverage it into content,” recommended Goldman Sachs analysts in October 2018.

Apple is now running with the idea, according to a Financial Times report.

Currently, its biggest fans have to sign up separately for Apple Music ($9.99 a month), Apple TV+ ($4.99 a month), Apple News+ ($9.99 a month) and Apple Arcade ($4.99 a month). A bundle would allow people to get all of these as a single subscription — presumably at a lower cost.

And it’s that last part that’s supposedly the sticking point with people in the music industry, according to Financial Times. These executives are concerned that reducing the amount subscribers pay would mean less money going to music producers.

A growing role for Apple services

With the exception of Apple Music, all this company’s entertainment-oriented subscription services are new. TV+ hasn’t even debuted yet.

They are part of a change in focus for this long-time hardware maker. With the smartphone market nearing saturation, iPhones aren’t selling as well as they used to. Apple is turning to services to keep growing its revenues.

The company isn’t making a secret of this. As part of announcing Q2 2019 financial results, Apple CEO Tim Cook said “This was our biggest June quarter ever — driven by all-time record revenue from Services.

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