Beats Music Performing Below Expectations with Low Subscriber Count

Beats Music, the once early anticipated on-demand music streaming service by popular headphone manufacturer Beats, hasn’t come anywhere close to meeting expectations, according to a new report by Billboard.

According to the report, Beats Music’s total paid subscriber count has barely hit the six figures – and that’s in spite of tons of support and a massive advertising campaign by Beats and partner AT&T, one that included everything and the kitchen sink – including copious free trials and even a ridiculous Super Bowl advertisement.

Speaking as an avid user of some existing music streaming services, including a paying member of Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes Radio – Beats Music has simply failed to deliver anything new or exciting to the industry. It’s difficult to impossible to establish yourself as a significant player so late in the field, and considering Beats is competing against the likes of Spotify – which offers a totally free, ad-supported plan, remember – it’s hard to get people to switch without some sort of incentive. The real question has always been whether or not Beats has offered potential users that incentive, and it seems to me like we’ve gotten our answer, at least for now – not a chance.