Apple denies Beats Music shuttering

Apple has responded to multiple reports which suggest it will shut down its acquired streaming service Beats Music.

Apple has denied overnight reports published by tech news websites like The Verge, Recode and the AOL-owned Tech Crunch, telling Billboard and AdNews the reports were “not true.”

The reports follow Apple’s decision to lay off some 200 staff members from the 700-strong Beats team in July. Some US publications have reported Apple plans to integrate the on-demand service into iTunes, however Beats Music isn’t a pre-loaded feature of the just-released iPhone 6 or Apple’s wearable watch, suggesting changes to the brand could be in the works.

Australia is reportedly the next market for Beats Music to launch in following the US, however Telstra are tight-lipped on the transition of Telstra’s MOG service into the Beats platform.

Since Apple’s AU$3.25 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics in May, the Beats Music app has been downloaded 5 million times in the US, with more than 250,000 paid subscribers.