By The Numbers

Apple says the best things in life aren’t freemium

Tony Wagner May 20, 2015
13 percent

That’s how much iTunes music sales dropped last year, and that means Apple is using its remaining pull in the music industry to set up its next big move, Harvard Business Review reported. The tech giant wants labels to pressure Spotify and other streaming services to drop their “freemium” model ahead of its rumored relaunch of Beats Music.

12 percent

The share price for auto supplier Takata fell as much as 12 percent on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s announcement that many of its airbags — about 34 million — are faulty and require a recall. The problem has to do with the airbags rupturing when deployed, causing several deaths and many more injuries. As the New York Times reports, it’s the largest recall related to automobiles ever. 

$99 billion

That’s the total amount of defaulted student loans in 2014. With such high figures, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions is considering legislation that would force colleges to pay back some of that defaulted debt. But some experts worry that such a requirement might discourage universities from accepting low-income students who may be a statistically higher risk for default.

$19

That’s how much a Seven Seas journal costs. Made with Japanese Tomoe River paper, it’s a little pricier than your average pad or notebook. But writer J. Robert Lennon says it helps him do his job well. Find out more over at “Pro Tool: Tools of the Professional,” our series on the must-have devices in the hands of working professionals.

30 million

That’s the number of underinsured, working-age adults in the U.S. And according to a new report, many of these people are opting not to seek out expensive treatments in spite of being insured. The reason? Rising deductibles and out-of-pocket costs force people to second guess when is the right time to call the doctor.

$19.35 per hour

That’s how much, on average, a household would have to earn at a full-time job to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the U.S. That’s according to a new report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The report lays out required household pay by state, some of them many times the minimum wage there.

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