Fledgling streaming service Beats Music has issued an update to its iPhone app, allowing prospective users to subscribe through the iTunes ecosystem.
With Beats headphones struggling somewhat to establish itself among the streaming elite, the firm has made the decision to sacrifice 30 per cent of the subscription fee on those coming through iTunes.
As a rule, Apple requires that cut for all in-app purchases and Beats seems to have admitted defeat in the uphill struggle to grow significantly without the ease offered through iTunes.
The company's CEO Ian Rogers told Recode that working within iTunes is simply "what you have to do if you want subscribers."
He added: "If you don't care if people subscribe or not, and you've got a free product, maybe then you wouldn't do it."
Can Beats compete?
The move will raise doubts over the initial uptake of the Beats service and its ability to compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio and Pandora.
Rogers said plenty of people are "trying it" and is claiming conversion rate wins from a promotion through the AT&T network in the United States, but it appears there is plenty of hard work ahead.
He added: "We've had far more people try the product than projected. Clearly the marketing works. The conversion rate on the AT&T plan is off the charts. It's safe to say the biggest problem is coveting iOS users, and we've just fixed that."
Via SlashGear
