Beats Music Is Shutting Down On November 30

Apple is encouraging users to migrate to Apple Music, which it touts as a better discovery tool.

By Neal Ungerleider

November 13, 2015

Well, Beats Music, it was good knowing you. Apple is formally announcing that Beats Music is shutting down on November 30; the service’s mobile apps will stop working at that time. Users are being encouraged to switch over to Apple’s successor service, Apple Music, via a migration tool.

In a blog post, Beats Music customer support manager Dave Bagwell wrote:

Beats Music ends on November 30. Your subscription will be cancelled, but you can move your picks and preferences over to Apple Music right now.

All the pros that curated music for you are still crafting more amazing experiences. Plus, on Apple Music, you’ll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more.

Although Apple will continue to manufacture and sell Beats hardware, the iconic brand is officially out of the streaming game. This isn’t too surprising considering that Apple launched its own branded subscription music service in June, a late, but competitive entry to a listening landscape littered with the likes of Spotify, Pandora, and Google Play. As Fast Company‘s John Paul Titlow reported at the time: “Apple Music has algorithms doing things like creating Genius playlists and artist-based, Pandora-style radio stations. But as with the Beats Music app that Apple gobbled up and rebuilt, Apple Music is focused very heavily on human curation.”

The challenge is getting users to switch over from competing services, even with the promise of access to Taylor Swift’s latest tunes. Spotify already integrates seamlessly with Facebook, offering a better social experience.

Beats Music stopped signing up new users shortly after Apple Music’s launch. That may be part of why Spotify’s new user sign-ups accelerated after Apple Music debuted. Apple Music for Android also launched recently, accelerating the switchover from Beats Music.