Botched launch. Terminal? Probably not, but we expect so much of Apple.

We had to listen to Jimmy and Drake testify, but no one focused on usability, no one told us how it actually worked, that would have been a better use of WWDC time, instead we got smoke and mirrors about a “revolutionary” product, how classic entertainment business.

Do I need new software?

I don’t think the average person would be aware of this, however, I am, I know you need a new iTunes and a new iOS. I decided to download both simultaneously, a big mistake.

There were no notices on my computer, nothing telling me about this great new product. So I went to Software Update, where I found 10.10.4 waiting for me, I figured Apple Music was baked in.

Now I’ve got a maxed-out iMac 5k and 200 down, and it took me the better part of fifteen minutes to install the update. And then it didn’t work.

I went to iTunes. Kept clicking, saw nothing.

Went to Safari, followed the prompts. Got back to iTunes, was told to upgrade but then the program said it was up to date. Downloaded the latest iteration and it still didn’t work.

Then I went to research… Google told me APPLE HADN’T PUSHED 12.2 TO CUSTOMERS YET! That’s right, on launch day, you can’t use it, at least not on your Mac or PC, until Apple deigns to send the software, all that hype for…nothing.

My iPhone gave me no notice of an update, I had to go to the Settings, to General and then search to see if they pushed new software.

But eventually my iPhone rebooted. Which took forever, and I’m running a 6. And I found Apple Music. It immediately wanted to charge me.

Hmm… I don’t like coughing up my credit card and neither does anyone else. And since Apple already has my credit card…I’m more fearful of cancelability, or forgetfulness. That’s right, you can’t cancel subscriptions in America, just call your cable company and try. Furthermore, gotchas abound. If I try to cancel a subscription one minute into the next month, they charge me for that, so I abhor making the commitment to subscribe whenever it requires financial information.

Now we know why Jimmy said he was gonna kill free. Through time-treasured American bait and switch techniques. The barrier to entry is supposed to be low, you’re supposed to charge AFTER! How many kids are gonna ask their parents to pay and get no in response? How many parents are gonna be PISSED when they find out they’ve been charged for something they thought was free, which will happen in October.

So I decide to log in with my Beats account, all the news says it’s gonna prompt me to convert to Apple Music. That didn’t happen.

But I hit the button on the mobile app and registered anyway… And what did I find… NONE OF THE INTUITIVE GRACE APPLE IS FAMOUS FOR! Kinda looked like the old iTunes Store, all I could see was what I paid for…

On the bottom I found radio, I clicked and heard what I did not want to. Looked for the OFF button. Hard to find. Eventually found a triangle near the bottom of the screen.

So there are five buttons at the bottom of the screen, and the first is “For You.” I click and I get the damn bubbles for Beats’s curation algorithm. Didn’t this fail once already? Apple does not do cutesy, but it does here.

So I’m waiting for the new iTunes, so I can listen more to Beats 1. I don’t want to use my iPhone while I’m working at my desk.

As for the vaunted playlists… Where are they, how do I find them? Do I have to click on the damn bubbles?

Now I’m not saying Apple Music is a failed product that will get no traction. But I am saying people have an unrealistic expectation of its functionality and ultimate impact.

First and foremost, you’ve got to let people know about it. I’ll argue Apple has not done the greatest job here, it’s equivalent to a soft launch, but with more than a modicum of publicity.

Second, USABILITY! What Apple built its rep on. How do I download, install and use the damn product? I’ve never been flummoxed to this extent before with an Apple offering. Even the Watch was easier. And they said they were gonna beat Spotify on interface…make me laugh.

Third, USABILITY! Once I’m in, how do I use it? All I keep hearing is about playlists, but where are they? How about one page with easy instructions, how about instructions in the app? I didn’t see them.

Apple Music will have an impact, it will gain customers. The brand will get people started, but only word of mouth will make it primary. The truth is many people don’t have subscription streaming services and a great proportion of them may not even be aware of them, or how they work. So, despite Spotify’s penetration, we’re not that far from the starting line.

But when you make it hard to install and want me to give my credit card up front…

You look like a sleazy American company, like a hated cable operation, and you make people reluctant.

This is no way to launch a revolution.

P.S. Yes, the first three months are free. But, right up front you commit to paying when that runs out, you link to your iTunes account, which has a credit card attached.

P.P.S. We do live in a mobile world, so desktop functionality is secondary. But those most prone to subscribing are the Luddites, and they start on the desktop machine.

P.P.P.S. Apple bought SoundJam to build iTunes and cleaned it up to be easier to use, as well as adding functionality. If you don’t think Apple Music looks just like Beats Music, you never used Beats Music. Except there’s more clutter and it’s less intuitive. Makes me think you should keep techies and music business people separate. As in Jimmy Iovine can hype, but he can’t code.

Previous Apple Music

Beats 1

 

From: Mike Caren

If Beats 1 were to work at the highest level, there would be a playlist the next day of everything every radio show played in the streaming service (sans commentary). The shows would essentially be the introduction to playlists with additional context. They would make a way for radio and playlists to co-exist in a value added format. It would essentially learn from TV/Tivo/Netflix and understand that you have a magnitude of different listeners that have different wants and needs.

What makes radio interesting, as does SNL and live concerts, is the show must go on. There isn’t as nearly the self imposed deadlines for recorded music. So many artists/labels/managers take too long making albums, over think them, and leave tons of great music sitting as 1s & 0s on hard drives. Do you know the most popular place to record music is Hotel rooms and AirBNB rentals? That probably exceeds the use of recording studios at this point for some artists. Music is made differently, consumed differently, but we still use so much structure designed long ago. I think people are starting to figure this out. I know that the conversations I’m having with forward thinking artists, managers, and label execs have changed completely just in the last 6 months.

Personally I’m very interested to hear what these DJS have to say and have been pissed ever since they took BBC Radio 1 off of SiriusXM and replaced it with the Studio 54 Disco channel. Zane is incredible and his passion and knowledge are amazing. He created “Hottest Record of the World.” Larry Jackson comes from radio (legendary KMEL days) but has been removed from it long enough to see it differently. I’m very optimistic. Maybe they’ll be raiding hard drives. I know they love new music. We’ll see.

Best,

Mike

 

From: Chris Douridas

Hi Bob,

I’ve spent most of my life thinking about what a global radio channel could sound like, and I agree with most of what you said.

And I’ve struggled with these same issues. I was hired early on by Steve Jobs and Eddy Cue as a creative consultant, working closely with them for the first four years of the iTunes service. My job was to think about how to program music, and create music programming concepts, for a global audience. Oddly enough, I was called on last month to consultant with them on finding the next coolest tune for their recent debut ad for Beats 1.

I’ve been watching their launch closely. Not only because I have a deep love and respect for the team behind the service, but also because I believe there’s a place in the world for a daily resource for what’s new in music that can be a shared experience among music lovers.

In many ways,Morning Becomes Eclectic was designed to be just that, eschewing genres to present what’s best. Period. But it’s a three hour show. KCRW doesn’t have the airtime or the budget to dedicate to a 24 hour channel, or the marketing power to be ubiquitous in the way that Apple can be.

In fact, the BBC music offerings may be the closest thing to what Apple is doing with Beats 1. That’s why Lowe is such an obvious and smart choice.

I would like to think that our collective work at KCRW for the last 30 years has helped to set the stage for what Lowe and team are setting out to achieve globally. Even Apple’s very description of their service sounds like taglines we’ve drummed into our listener’s head for decades:

“Zane Lowe and his handpicked team of renowned DJs create an eclectic mix of the latest and best in music.”

I like the fact that Trent Reznor was inspired by curated, informed radio. Remember when Top 40, used to be wildly eclectic? Where does one go now to get a relevant, informed and entertaining view of the latest and greatest? We all have our go-to resources, but at present, there is no default answer. In the end, we may conclude there doesn’t need to be one.

But we already have every conceivable niche format well-represented at any music service you can point to. What’s more rare are the trusted curators.

I don’t think Lowe and his team believe for a second they are some kind of cure-all. I think they just want to give the world a thoughtful alternative. That in itself is a noble goal, and i wish them the best.

Chris Douridas

KCRW-FM / School Night! / Music Supervision
Pacific Palisades, CA

1. “Mr. Tambourine Man”
The Byrds

Folk rock. A new sound with the old melody and lyrics of folk married to rock guitars, a hybrid that snuck up on the Brits and caught them unawares. You’ve got no idea what a revelation it was to hear this sound on the radio, just ask Tom Petty! Of course the song was written by Bob Dylan, but at this point most people did not know this, even though they were aware of his previously most famous composition, “Blowin’ In The Wind,” albeit done by Peter, Paul & Mary. But that would change soon, with the release of the iconic “Like A Rolling Stone” shortly thereafter. Dylan was suddenly front and center, both entrancing and alienating people simultaneously. Ironically, so many who hated the bard from Hibbing’s voice LOVED this!

2. “I Can’t Help Myself”
The Four Tops

Not my favorite Four Tops track, that would be “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” this was still great, in an era where the U.K. and Detroit were vying for our attention, with L.A. and New York trying to edge in too. This was akin to the modern era, except the names have changed, now it’s Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook.

3. “Wooly Bully”
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

From back when Pharaohs were musicians, not horses, and they knew how to spell it!

Was this a novelty hit or was it the latest rock extension or was it just Tex-Mex, something we were almost completely unfamiliar with, although we did hear the Sir Douglas Quintet’s exquisite “She’s About A Mover,” a track with similar genealogy, on the radio a few months before.

Who can forget… “Uno, dos, one, two, tres, quatro!” Certainly not U2, ha!

4. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
The Rolling Stones

Was Mick trying to make some girl pregnant or..?

Everybody talks about the lyrics of “Louie Louie,” but it’s these that we were mesmerized by, that we tried to figure out.

This exploded out of the speaker, it was ubiquitous in a way no record is today. You couldn’t live on the planet and be unaware of this track. Taylor Swift may be able to bring Apple to its knees, but she can’t make everybody listen to her music, but the Stones could.

With the help of radio, with the help of the youthquake…

We were addicted to our transistors. Radio ran the culture. The Top Ten was played in public… I remember hearing this over the PA at one in the morning at the World’s Fair, it was EVERYWHERE!

5. “(What A) Wonderful World”
Herman’s Hermits

Ah, the sands of time. For a long time this was the most famous rendition of this song, but it’s been eclipsed by Art Garfunkel’s rendition, never mind Paul Simon and James Taylor’s version with the added verse, and, stunningly, the original take of this song has come back from the dead, yes, Sam Cooke’s take is much more famous than Herman’s Hermits’ today, and Sam wrote it with Herb Alpert and Lou Adler.

6. “Crying In The Chapel”
Elvis Presley

I HATED Elvis!

Oh, I get it now, I loved going to Graceland, but there was no way I could sit through this when it came on the radio, it was slow and dirgy and representative of everything that once was that the British Invasion rubbed off the chart. That’s right, there was a revolution in music, an unexpected one that wiped the decks clean and brought in a whole new sound and audience. Can we have one again?

7. “For Your Love”
The Yardbirds

An iconic song from a nearly forgotten band. That’s right, we used to marvel at the three guitarists that emanated from this group, Clapton, Beck and Page, but that was back when we still cared about rock music.

This was a one listen smash that I used to see on “Where The Action Is” that summer. Brief and to the point, it was written by a 19 year old Graham Gouldman years before he had success with his group 10cc.

8. “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte”
Patti Page

Top Forty radio was truly the best of the best, genre didn’t matter, and Top Forty was the only thing that mattered, this was long before FM went free form. The song is from the motion picture of the same name, which played for months, back before movies opened wide and were done in weeks.

I didn’t hate this as much as “Crying In The Chapel,” I listened to it, afraid I might miss one of my favorites on the radio, but I never really cottoned to “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.”

9. “Help Me, Rhonda”
The Beach Boys

The iteration from “Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)”, not the one from “The Beach Boys Today!,” which was released just months before “Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)” The takes are oh-so-similar, yet they’re different. The earlier version is not a hit, it’s close, but not there. Whereas the one from “Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)” is a smash, I’ll include both.

However…even though “Help Me, Rhonda” went to number one, it’s been eclipsed in the public consciousness by the number three single that came after, from the same album, “Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)”, the piece-de-resistance, the definitive statement known as…”California Girls.”

I first heard “California Girls” on the radio. And then I took my transistor everywhere, in order to catch it again, I dangled my radio from my handlebars, when I was stationary it was glued to my ear. Just to hear the mellifluous sounds of that intro, and then the gallop into those lyrics that made me want to move to California.

And I did.

10. “Seventh Son”
Johnny Rivers

Talk about completely forgotten, no one under fifty knows who this dude is.

His crime was to have hit cover versions of some of the greatest records of all time. And therefore, as we gained knowledge and got hipper, we disparaged him. But I’d like to see him perform today.

Rhinofy-Top Ten-Week Ending June 26, 1965

MTV died when videos became an on demand item online. What makes Apple believe the future of music consumption is radio?

I’d like Beats 1 to be successful. It would be great to add a bit of coherence to the music scene, to have international tastemakers leading us to the best stuff. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. Like the streaming service, Beats 1 will get some traction, it will have some effect, but it will not rule, because it’s based on a failed paradigm, that we want to wait to be served the same thing.

Pandora rules because each station is different.

SiriusXM offers a plethora of radio stations. As any devoted listener will tell you, the satellite’s a button-pushing paradise. It’s hard to stay locked in to one outlet, you hear something you don’t like, or don’t love, and you see what’s playing somewhere else. Now we’re gonna be locked in to one person’s taste? Sounds positively awful.

As does the concept of celebrity deejays. Credit Apple for hiring Zane Lowe, he’s a professional. But to believe Elton John and the rest of the rockers can create good radio is to believe Cousin Brucie should have number one records. Scott Muni too. And while we’re at it, Big Boy. Turns out deejaying is a skill, one honed over time. And if you think it’s easy to enrapture the audience, you’ve never attempted it.

As for the power of Mr. Lowe… He’s completely unknown in most markets. To believe he can take his audience away from the BBC and triumph elsewhere is to believe the host of “Morning Becomes Eclectic” can rule elsewhere. But this has never happened. Tom Schnabel, the progenitor of the show, has been forgotten to the sands of time. One can argue that Chris Douridas blew himself up, but he’s meaningless today. And Nic Harcourt, arguably once the most powerful deejay in adult music, is a footnote at best. Turns out the platform was more powerful than the deejay. Which doesn’t bode well for Mr. Lowe.

Then, of course, there’s Howard Stern. But the difference between Howard and the rest is Howard invented his own show, there was nothing like it previously, he was truly selling his own personality, still is, the records were irrelevant and then banished. So, Howard could take his audience from terrestrial to satellite, from free to behind a paywall. But, even Howard was marginalized until he started judging on “America’s Got Talent.” The platform is key.

As for Trent Reznor dreaming up the idea of an international radio station… That’s what’s wrong with the music business, aged people who remember how it once was. Sure, I was addicted to the radio back in the last century, but that was before I had options.

So what Beats 1 is asking for here is for you to throw away your remote and watch the same TV channel 24/7. It might be HBO (well, actually something more like Starz, at best), but if you want to live in a world with only HBO, you’re a zombie. I love Bill Maher, but I don’t want to watch “True Blood” or even “Game of Thrones.” So when I hear a tuneout on Beats 1…that’s exactly what I’m going to do, tune out.

As much as I deplore the techies’ lack of musical sophistication, all the advances of the last fifteen years can be laid at their feet, starting with Napster, evolving to Pandora. None of the usual suspects was responsible for the revolution. And now we’ve got oldsters trying to bring us back to the past?

Nearly laughable.

I mean if they got better-looking hosts on MTV and played just the best videos would you want to tune in?

Of course not.