蘋果推出新的流媒體服務應對競爭

Apple has made its biggest push into digital music since it began selling downloads on iTunes 12 years ago, launching a new streaming service that will compete with Spotify and new services from Google and Jay Z, the hip-hop star.

蘋果(Apple)推出了新的流服務，該服務將與Spotify的流服務、以及谷歌(Google)與嘻哈明星Jay-Z推出的新服務展開競爭。這是蘋果自12年前開始在iTunes上出售下載音樂以來向數字音樂領域發起的最大規模衝鋒。

The new service — dubbed Apple Music — will be available on hundreds of millions of connected Apple devices. It is the first significant music product launched by Apple since it paid $3bn to buy Beats Electronics from Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine last year.

這一被稱爲蘋果音樂(Apple Music)的新服務將向數以億計的蘋果聯網設備提供。它是蘋果自收購Beats Electronics以來推出的首個重要音樂產品。蘋果去年斥資30億美元從Dr. Dre和吉米•約維內(Jimmy Iovine)手中購得了Beats Electronics。

Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, told the audience at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco on Monday that the new service represented the “next chapter” of music.

週一在舊金山舉行的蘋果全球開發者大會(Worldwide Developer Conference)上，蘋果首席執行官蒂姆•庫克(Tim Cook)向聽衆表示，這種新服務代表着音樂領域的“新篇章”。

Apple Music includes Connect, which will allow musicians and record labels to share free content with music fans, and Beats 1, an online radio service broadcasting from Los Angeles, New York and London. “The truth is that internet radio isn’t radio. It’s just a playlist,” said Jimmy Iovine, the former Beats chief executive, who is leading Apple’s new music push. “We wanted to create a worldwide radio station.”

蘋果音樂包含讓音樂家和唱片公司能向粉絲分享免費內容的Connect，以及Beats 1，也就是一項播出地點分別位於洛杉磯、紐約和倫敦的在線廣播服務。前Beats首席執行官、現蘋果音樂業務負責人約維內表示：“事實上，互聯網廣播並不是廣播。它只是一個播放列表。我們想創建一家覆蓋全世界的電臺。”

The new service will launch in 100 countries later this month for iOS devices, costing $9.99, with the first three months free. A family package will cost $14.99 for up to six people. “We want everyone to try it,” said Eddie Cue, Apple’s senior vice-president of Internet Software and Services.

這項新服務將於本月晚些時候在100個國家面向iOS設備推出，每月收費9.99美元，頭三個月免費。家庭套餐價格爲14.99美元，可供最多6人使用。蘋果互聯網軟件與服務高級副總裁埃迪•庫埃(Eddie Cue)說：“我們希望每個人都試一試。”