Apple Acquires Music Tracking Player Semetric

In a play seemingly aimed at sharpening its focus on customer needs and boosting its music services, Apple acquired London-based analytics company Semetric, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Partners and analysts stressed the move could help Apple boost customer engagement and navigate its consumers' music demands in the increasingly competitive space of the streaming market.

[Related: The Top 10 Apple Stories Of 2014 ]

"It's an interesting purchase within the scheme of Apple's acquisitions," said Michael Oh of Boston-based Apple partner Tech SuperPowers. "It's a good way to pay attention to what customers are listening to. But the company is also hoping to create an ecosystem for artists to understand how their music is doing throughout the industry. Within that, Apple is becoming more artist-friendly. That feels to me like a smart move for Apple."

id
unit-1659132512259
type
Sponsored post

Semetric, which specifically provides big data for media and entertainment systems, offers the MusicMetric Pro dashboard as its analytics product. MusicMetric tracks social media interactions for musical entities and gives overviews of how artists are performing online.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, according to The Wall Street Journal report.

The music industry is nothing new for Apple, which offers more than 43 million songs on its iTunes Store and streamlines genre-specific stations through iTunes Radio. The two services have long been offered on the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's various devices.

But in May, Apple took its music services a step further when it snagged Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion, its largest acquisition ever. Beats Electronics sells headphones and speakers, but, more importantly, streaming services through Beats Music, placing Apple on par with competitive streaming music companies such as Spotify and Pandora.

The rise of streaming services parallels a shift in how consumers are getting their music. Global iTunes sales were down in October by 13 percent to 14 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal, and so Apple could be taking a closer look at the structure of its music services, said Oh.

"It's the emerging belief that people are experiencing music right now and getting access to new music through streaming services," he said. "iTunes Radio's streaming services are sufficient, but Apple needs something that can compete with Pandora or Spotify. The weakness of the delivery model of paying and downloading is becoming clearer, and younger folks are just not engaging that way anymore. The implication is that Apple is realizing the importance of focusing on streaming music, and looking at specific ways to engage its hundreds of millions of customers."

Devices analyst Jack Narcotta of Hampton, N.H.-based Technology Business Research saw the purchase as an opportunity for Apple to track its returns for its music services and pinpoint customer engagement.

"This is great way for Apple to understand what its customers want. Analytics can help companies monetize things that might not show how a revenue model operates on the surface," said Narcotta. "I see it being a benefit for Apple … now it can have a dashboard to look for where its music business could see opportunities for growth. It's a way to boost engagement and ultimately purchases."

"I don't think this is really a competitive move," he added. "It’s more of a way for Apple to stay in touch with their customers and track what people are listening to."

PUBLISHED JAN. 21, 2015