beatsMUSIC FINISHED

Before it could even celebrate its second anniversary, the once aggressively advertised Beats Music service will bow out of the stage in favor of the new kid on the block that reportedly managed to garner an impressive 6.5 million paying customers in less than four months of life.

Starting earlier this week, Apple Music is also available to Android users dissatisfied with Google Play Music (or Spotify), albeit as an incomplete beta, so it really was only a matter of time until Cupertino decided to pull the plug altogether on Dr. Dre’s tunes streaming app.

November 30 is when “all service ends” for surviving Beats Music subscribers, according to official e-mails sent to remind people every end is a new beginning, and the first three months of Apple Music access are free of charge for all migrants.

Playlists, picks and preferences will be moved to Tim Cook’s audio crown jewel, which now works on Androids, iPhones, iPads, Macs, and PCs. Over 30 million songs are part of the colossal browsing experience, with 24/7 Beats 1 worldwide radio also offered after careful curation from “pros” and famous artists.

There’s still a small sample of Beats Music users who shouldn’t hurry to “upgrade” to Apple Music just yet, namely owners of Sonos-connected hi-fi systems. These are to finally gain support by the end of the year, although we can’t be sure they’ll have the service up and running as early as December 1.

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