Apple will officially announce the company’s new streaming service today. Apple’s streaming music service has been long anticipated, and it will directly rival what Spotify has to offer. Ever since Apple purchased Beats Electronics, a streaming music service has been in the cards for the company.

How Apple’s New Service Will Work

Apple’s new streaming service will work alongside iTunes, but exactly how it’s going to be connected to iTunes is somewhat unknown (other than the fact that everything available through iTunes will also be available through Apple’s new streaming music offering). If you do subscribe to Apple’s new streaming service, you will have to pay $10 per month for unlimited access (that price is directly comparable to what Spotify offers).

Apple’s spin on streaming music is to try and make the selections that you hear better than what you’d find on Spotify. While Spotify does try to suggest songs that coincide with your specific music tastes, sometimes these suggestions miss the mark. Apple has studied what Spotify does, and will be changing things up to really hit the nail on the head where new music and suggested music is concerned.

Working With Industry Leaders

Apple has already hired Dr. Dre, Trent Reznor, DJ Zane Lowe, and four additional music industry producers to be official “tastemakers” for the service. These people will hand-pick new music for Apple’s many listeners to try out. Apple is far from being the only big company in the streaming music sphere.

Obviously, the company’s biggest rival will be Swedish company Spotify (Spotify currently has 60 million active users and around 15 million active subscribers). But, there are some other companies to consider as well including Google Play Music, Rhapsody, Rdio, Tidal, and Deezer. Rather than be scared away by a company as large as Apple entering the streaming space, the other companies in this area are happy for the draw that Apple will bring. Sometimes competition is a good thing, and this seems to be the case right now with Apple’s streaming service.

Other Announcements Coming Today

In addition to announcing the new streaming service that the company will offer, Apple is also expected to announce updates to Apple TV and to its Apple Pay service. All of this will happen at the WWDC event that’s taking place today in San Francisco. Typically, Apple’s announcements are always quite guarded and never leaked in advance, but some of the company’s that Apple has partnered with to create the new streaming service have told press that today is, indeed, the day that the Apple streaming service will be offered.

How will Apple stack up to Spotify and other streaming services? While the rate appears to be the same, Apple might have more songs available. Plus, the fact that the company is working with some industry musicians in order to suggest songs to its users that are new and relevant may help with music selection and with drawing users to Apple’s newest services. If you want to check out Apple Streaming, it should be ready today.