Apple Music Subscription Prices Could Plummet 20 Percent As Competition Heats Up
Apple may have had grand visions of storming the streaming music arena and putting out of business the likes of Spotify and Google Music, but that is not the way things went down. It remained a crowded field, and now with Amazon also having an on-demand service of its own, rumor has it Apple is mulling a price drop to its regular rate and family pricing.
An Apple Music subscription currently furn $10 per month for an individual user and $15 per month for a family of five. There is also a discounted student rate that costs $5 per month. The price drop is said to be as much as 20 percent, knocking the regular rate down to $8 per month and the family package to $13 per month. That would make it more competitive with Amazon's offering, and even Google Music's introductory rate ($8 per month) when it first launched.
Amazon earlier this month threw its hat into the ring with a real on-demand service (as opposed to the one with a comparatively small catalog of titles it offered as a perk to Prime members) priced at $10 per month, same as Apple, but only $8 per month for Prime members. And if paid in annual installments ($79 per year), it works out to only $6.58 per month. On top of all that, there's a $4 per month option that limits the service to a single Echo device.
Unnamed sources who are supposedly working closely with Apple say the price change is something Apple is discussing but has not yet decided on. However, they also say the change in pricing could come as early as Christmas with Apple kicking things off with a promotional discount for the holiday season. At present, Apple offers a free three month trial. The promotion would alter things so that users who subscribe before Christmas getting the discounted rate by March or April.
It's an interesting scenario because while all this is going on, streaming players still have to pay out royalties to the music industry.
An Apple Music subscription currently furn $10 per month for an individual user and $15 per month for a family of five. There is also a discounted student rate that costs $5 per month. The price drop is said to be as much as 20 percent, knocking the regular rate down to $8 per month and the family package to $13 per month. That would make it more competitive with Amazon's offering, and even Google Music's introductory rate ($8 per month) when it first launched.
Amazon earlier this month threw its hat into the ring with a real on-demand service (as opposed to the one with a comparatively small catalog of titles it offered as a perk to Prime members) priced at $10 per month, same as Apple, but only $8 per month for Prime members. And if paid in annual installments ($79 per year), it works out to only $6.58 per month. On top of all that, there's a $4 per month option that limits the service to a single Echo device.
Unnamed sources who are supposedly working closely with Apple say the price change is something Apple is discussing but has not yet decided on. However, they also say the change in pricing could come as early as Christmas with Apple kicking things off with a promotional discount for the holiday season. At present, Apple offers a free three month trial. The promotion would alter things so that users who subscribe before Christmas getting the discounted rate by March or April.
It's an interesting scenario because while all this is going on, streaming players still have to pay out royalties to the music industry.
