The launch of Apple Music may be beneficial to subscribers of some other streaming music services by increasing competition, with at least one service examining its pricing strategy. Major competitor Spotify is said to be looking into potentially making changes to what it charges its own subscribers for a family plan, in order to counter the relatively low family account pricing Apple revealed yesterday at WWDC.
Apple Music costs $10 per month for a single account, though a family plan will also be available at launch for $15, offering streams to up to six family members. In the United States, Spotify’s own multi-user account effectively adds $5 per extra person on top of the single-user $10 account. This means that Apple Music’s $15 group account cost would only buy access for two people on Spotify, and though it doesn’t offer a six-person option, Spotify’s maximum of five users of a shared account costs $30, double Apple’s equivalent.
A statement from Spotify global head of communications and public policy, Jonathan Price, received by The Verge claims “We already have similar family pricing in some markets and we expect to offer competitive pricing everywhere in the near future. While it was not advised how “competitive” the pricing will be compared to Apple Music, it was noted that Spotify’s service in Sweden already offers the five-member account for approximately $20 per month, cheaper than the current group service.
Spotify isn’t alone in having to deal with Apple’s cheaper family plan, but it is the first to at least discuss it. Rdio updated its family plans in November, but follows the same pricing structure as Spotify. The majority of other services, including Google Play Music All Access and Tidal, still don’t offer group plans, but may be pressured to do so after Apple’s launch. Even so, all services involved may struggle to match Apple, as they have to contend with licensing agreements with record labels, something that is an ongoing discussion for all involved.
