The Digital Music News reports Apple is considering a price drop for Apple Music subscriptions. DMN’s sources – two people that are not employed by Apple, but have worked closely with Apple Music since its launch – say the tariff for the service could drop from $9.99 to $7.99 for a single sub, while a family package would drop from $14.99 to $12.99.
Of course, the report carries the usual standard “disclaimer” for reports such as this…
The sources are not inside Apple, but have been working closely with the Apple Music service since its launch. They also emphasized that the changes are still under discussion, albeit ‘under serious discussion’. Still, there are valuation debates underway, and the price chop may not be implemented.
The new prices, if they make it past the “debate” stage, could begin rolling out as soon as Christmas, perhaps as a “holiday promotional discount.” Student rates would not be affected by the price drop, hanging tough at $4.99 per month.
Current subscribers would not receive any sort of compensation for their previous months of higher payments, but they would be transitioned to the lower rates, if they become permanent.
The report claims Amazon’s new Music Unlimited subscription is one of the motivations for Apple considering an Apple Music subscription cut. The service just launched recently, with a $9.99 per month price, just $7.99 for Prime members. The service also offers a $3.99 per month, “Echo-only” subscription for owners of any of Amazon’s Amazon Echo devices. Amazon also offers a “free,” more limited “Prime Music” option for Prime subscribers.
As is usual for this type of report, we simply have to take a wait and see attitude. Grain of salt, that sort of thing…
