Apple on Tuesday announced that it has expanded its digital offerings in China to include Apple Music, iTunes Movies, and iBooks.
“Customers in China love the App Store and have made it our largest market in the world for app downloads,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “One of the top requests has been more great content and we’re thrilled to bring music, movies and books to China, curated by a local team of experts.”
Apple Music in china will feature millions of songs in its catalog, featuring music from artists including Eason Chan, Li Ronghao, JJ Lin and G.E.M., as well as a wide range of international artists including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and many more.
Three-month Apple Music trials start today, September 30 in China, the same day free-to-try services are scheduled to end in the U.S. After the trial period is over, Chinese customers will be charged a 10 RMB per month fee for single-use accounts, or 15 RMB per month for family plans for up to six family members.
iTunes Movies will also now be offered in China, bringing recent blockbusters, such as “Jurassic World,” “Furious 7,” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” as well as movies from local studios including Bona, Huayi Brothers and 1905. The recent Chinese hit, “The Taking of Tiger Mountain,” will be offered for free to all customers in China for a limited time.
Movies on iTunes will be available starting at 5 RMB for rental in HD and 18 RMB to buy new releases in HD. Paid iBooks start at 0.5 RMB.
iBooks will offer a wide selection of both paid and free Chinese language books from local publishers, including “Big Head Son & Little Head Dad” by Zheng Chunhua, “The Family Belongings of Chinese People” by Ma Hongjie, and for the first time in China, Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series will be available in a digital format.
China has quickly become one of Apple most important international markets. This year marked the first time China was included as an iPhone launch country.
