Apple, Verizon partnership gives unlimited data plan subscribers six months of free Apple ...

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS edited August 2018
Verizon on Wednesday announced a new and exclusive partnership with Apple that grants six free months of Apple Music to customers who subscribe to one of the carrier's three unlimited plans.

Apple Music


The promo goes into effect starting on Aug. 16 and applies to all users, whether they are new to Apple Music, cancelled the service, or are a current subscriber. That means customers are able to stream all of Apple Music's 45 million tracks over Verizon's 4G LTE network without worrying about data caps.

"This first-of-its-kind offer is just the first step in an exclusive partnership with Apple," said Angie Klein, Verizon's VP of Marketing. What the next step in this partnership will be is unknown.

Many carriers have recently put similar deals in action, with T-Mobile offering Netflix with its unlimited data plan, Sprint bundling Hulu and Tidal, and AT&T offering WatchTV. The biggest difference is Verizon's deal is limited to six months whereas the others are ongoing.

Recently in the world of Apple Music, Apple started ramping up their social game with the introduction of a new "Friend's Mix" for users running iOS 11.

In April, it was revealed that Apple Music had 40 million paid subscribers and in July it was said to have overtaken Spotify in paid subscribers in the U.S.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    steven n.steven n. Posts: 1,229member
    So will Apple simply stop billing you if you are on a qualified plan?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    claire1claire1 Posts: 510unconfirmed, member
    steven n. said:
    So will Apple simply stop billing you if you are on a qualified plan?
    I believe these deals are a credit. So you'll get the cash equivalent on your iTunes account.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 10
    seanismorrisseanismorris Posts: 1,624member
    I HATE promo’s especially when they don’t tell me they’re ending.  This is a cable company tactic that I despise.

    I also get unlimited music with Amazon for free...
  • Reply 4 of 10
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,251member
    seanismorris said:
    I HATE promo’s especially when they don’t tell me they’re ending.  This is a cable company tactic that I despise.

    I also get unlimited music with Amazon for free...
    With Amazon Prime? Which isn’t free. 
    claire1watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    NY1822NY1822 Posts: 621member
    good, now Apple can count these as paid subscribers just like Spotify does with their free promos...
    chasm
  • Reply 6 of 10
    roundaboutnowroundaboutnow Posts: 735member
    ...
    That means customers are able to stream all of Apple Music's 45 million tracks over Verizon's 4G LTE network without worrying about data caps.
    ...
    I know Verizon's "unlimited" plans actually have some limitations, but I think their unlimited plans don't have data caps.

    edit: I looked and found they'll slow you down after some amount of network "congestion" and/or data usage, but they don't cap how much data you use.
    edited August 2018
  • Reply 7 of 10
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,063member
    The trick to the "free promo" stuff is to always give them a prepaid Visa card behind it, one with no money in it. Pay with cash, keep one with 10 cents on it, give them that number when signing up. I just had one charge my CC 3 days early. I intended to cancel the service on the last day. Fortunately my CC company saw it my way.

    I am very wary of subscription stuff. YMMV. But the rumored bundles from Apple involving their studio investments might be worth a look. 
    gatorguy
  • Reply 8 of 10
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    NY1822 said:
    good, now Apple can count these as paid subscribers just like Spotify does with their free promos...
    Welcome to the murky world of streaming music. 
  • Reply 9 of 10
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    NY1822 said:
    good, now Apple can count these as paid subscribers just like Spotify does with their free promos...
    The difference here is that after three months Verizon is probably paying most of the bill. Spotify's free promotions are being paid by Spotify's venture capitalists.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,063member
    The "feature" of steaming music is that you get the content by paying up front via the subscription to replace the traditional ad revenue. (I never understood why I was still seeing ads on cable TV, but ok.) But there's another model, much like the ad system used by the Google that targets the consumers' individual tastes: let consumers opt in and control their ad preferences. TV is specifically designed and scripted with "acts" for natural commercial breaks. Let consumers build a profile directly of their interests, and reward them with ads of their choice...and pay them for accepting them. A penny an ad? By the minute? Put it in some account to use in some creative way. Do the same with streaming music. 

    Get on it, Tim.
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