Three years after launching on Fire TV devices, Apple Music will today become available to Roku customers. The streaming device maker says that Apple Music subscribers will be able to download the Apple Music app starting sometime later today on any Roku device, including its streaming players, Roku TV models and its audio products like the Roku Streambar Pro, among others.
The app will offer access to Apple Music’s more than 90 million song catalog and its 30,000 curated playlists through an ad-free listening experience in the Apple Music app. It will also allow customers to stream Apple Music Radio, watch music videos in 4K, play songs with time-synced lyrics, as well as listen to the songs, albums and playlists they’ve stored in their own library. The service additionally includes access to Apple Music’s original shows, concerts and exclusives, and personalized recommendations.
Of note, Roku will also provide a way for new customers to sign up for the service through the Roku channel store for a one-month free trial, after which customers can choose to subscribe to continue listening, starting at $9.99 per month. Roku confirmed to TechCrunch its customers will be able to enter into a paid subscription through its Roku channel store.
If there’s any wonder why it has taken this long to launch Apple Music on one of the largest streaming platforms on the market, this could have been the sticking point. Typically, Roku takes a 20% revenue share on channels on its platform, which monetize through subscriptions or in-app purchases. The companies did not publicize their revenue share agreement, however, so it’s not clear if Apple has negotiated a special deal or if it’s decided to abide by Roku’s general terms in order to address Roku’s sizable market of 61.3 million active accounts as of Q1 2022.
Roku declined to comment.
Apple Music is one of the last big streamers to provide support for Roku, joining others like Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, iHeart, TuneIn, Vevo and others.
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