Apple is double down on its services business now by teaming up with Verizon Wireless to offer Apple Music as part of Verizon Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited Data Plans. If you are like me and have Verizon New Unlimited or Go Unlimited which is unlimited at a cheaper because you are grandfathered in you can still get 6 months of Apple Music Free then pay $9.99 a month after that on your Verizon Bill.
In their blog post, Verizon Angie Klein said this
“Verizon Unlimited customers have been streaming their favorite songs on America’s largest and most reliable network with six months of Apple Music included with their plans. Now, we’re bringing the best in unlimited data and the best in unlimited music together in an even bigger way. Starting January 17, Apple Music will be included in Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans.* And for customers choosing Go Unlimited, they can still get six months of Apple Music free**.”
“When we introduced six months free of Apple Music to Verizon Unlimited subscribers, we said it was just the beginning of a great collaboration between Verizon and Apple to bring music streaming to our loyal customers,” said Angie Klein, vice president of marketing at Verizon. “Our customers loved the offer, so we’re expanding the value of our Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans by including Apple Music at the same plan price. You can stream more of the music you love on the network you deserve.”
While this partnership is a win for both companies. For Verizon, they can lure in more customers and push them over to unlimited and Apple gets more Apple Music Subscribers as Apple realizes the future of the company is subscription services. Since Apple Music is available on Android as well, it won’t be limited to Verizon users with an iPhone.
I am wondering why you never see any offers like this for Spotify. This would be a way of Spotify catching up in terms of subscription numbers in the United States, where Apple Music is already believed to be in the lead. I would like to see maybe Spotify team up with AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile to help them get an edge on Apple to keep the subscription music market competitive. I am not sure if Spotify has enough pull with the carriers like Apple does to be able to set something like this up.