Apple Music tipped to launch redesign next month

Australian Apple Music consumers frustrated with its confusing interface and a lack of features may draw comfort that a redesign is being rumoured.

According to Bloomberg, it will include more sister stations for Beats 1 and better integration of its streaming and download options to make it more “intuitive”. The reboot is expected to be unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, and to be followed by a major marketing push.

When Apple Music arrived last June, it offered an irresistible mix: 30 million tunes, a 24/7 Beats One radio station curated by hip authorities and integration with downloads.

A year later, subscription figures have risen to 13 million. But its iTunes revenue, at nearly US$3.5 billion, is still three times that from streaming services. Apple Music has been criticised for being too focussed on fixing problems than unveiling new features.

The problem has been Apple’s complicated leadership, compounded by the departure of many key executives in the last 12 months. These included former Beats Music Chief Executive Ian Rogers, along with the heads of product, design, engineering and visual design.

Jimmy Iovine is the head of Apple Music. But Apple’s day to day operations is run from LA by head of content Robert Kondrk while Eddy Cue, the senior vice president in charge of Internet services, is based in Cupertino. Iovine apparently tends to strike deals of his own using his clout as a music executive (like getting Taylor Swift to star in its new ad, scoring an exclusive with Drake’s newest) while other Apple executives are negotiating with the same people.

Complaints from within the company are that approval for ideas for new features takes long to be dealt with.

Apple also faces criticism that its software does not match its awesomely designed hardware. “Apple Music is underwhelming,” New York-based BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis told Bloomberg. “They have subscribers because of their platform. If you have that kind of subscriber base, you should have millions of subscribers.”

But with recent Q2 earnings showing iPhone sales down for the first time since its 2007 debut, expanding Apple Music’s subscription to close the gap with

Apple is looking at divisions as Apple Music going forward to expand revenue. The focus is to expand its subscription base to close the gap with Spotify’s estimated 25 million (out of 80 million users) has become a priority. Some analysts say this should have happened at least six months ago.

The redesign is being overseen by Kondrk, design chief Jony Ive and creative consultant Trent Rezno, with input from Iovine and Cue.

It is hoped that the design will address more Apple Music’s negatives – including the need for a freemium tier and downvote option like Spotify’s, better desktop and web clients and its criticisms as the service’s selecting of irrelevant music and not automatically adding all songs from an album to the user’s library.