[arcanus]

> They have a handful of dangerous competitors, all of which are not reliant on the music business.

That can be a double edged sword. They can also kill products that are losing money. Apple does not give away much for free. If this is a loss leader I don't see them keeping the service.

[Xixi]

Apple doesn't like not being in control. There are a handful of core use-cases (besides basic phone functionality like calling and texting) of a smartphone that Apple will simply not give control away. Among these I see the browser, music and maps/GPS which is why I don't see Apple divesting from Safari, Maps or Music.

I don't think Apple is making much money from Maps, and yet here we are, they keep investing into it. If Apple drops Apple Music, they don't want Spotify to come knocking at the door and say: pay us or we will discontinue Spotify on iOS. Much worse scenario: Google buys Spotify. Apple has been relying on Google Maps before, I don't think they want a re-run...