The competition in the music streaming industry has practically been whittled down to two major players: Spotify and Apple Music. And any advantage one can get
The competition in the music streaming industry has practically been whittled down to two major players: Spotify and Apple Music. And any advantage one can get over the other is, of course, a huge point in its favor. For this round, Apple Music may have gotten the upper hand with an exclusive partnership with Verizon that practically bundles the carrier’s Unlimited (for various meanings of the word) data plans with free Apple Music. At least for six months.
The deal is simple enough. Verizon Unlimited subscribers, both new and old, can sign up for an Apple Music subscription and enjoy the music streaming service for free for six months. That’s twice the three-month free trial period for everyone else. It definitely sounds like a match made in heaven considering you’re also getting “unlimited” data to stream or download those tunes.
In the larger scheme of things, it might actually feel a bit limited. The free gravy stops flowing after 6 months, after all, and you start paying $9.99 a month if you wish to continue. Other carriers have similar bundles whose free price lives on for as long as the carrier line is active. But, then again, none of them offer Apple Music and, given the Verizon exclusivity, none of them ever will.
Six months or not, this definitely gives Apple Music another distinct advantage over its biggest rival. Just a few days ago, Tim Cook went on record to promote Apple’s famous “human curation” as an advantage of its streaming service, a slight jab at Spotify’s more algorithmic approach to music recommendation and selection. And, at least based on numbers, it’s a strategy that’s working in Apple’s favor.
