Photo Credit: AppleThe Apple Music free trial has been reduced to just one month in all countries.
Apple Music traditionally offered new users a three-month trial period for the music streaming app. There are no changes to the pricing structure of any of its paid subscriptions. Apple still offers a limited-time six-month free trial with purchase of products like Beats, AirPods, and the HomePod mini. Apple has not announced the change publicly.
The change comes at a time when Spotify is losing music from artists like Neil Young. Apple took advantage of that situation by announcing itself as the ‘Home of Neil Young’ the day after the Canadian-American singer requested his music be removed from Spotify. It seems Apple may continue to capitalize on the situation by converting new subscribers to paying subscribers on a quicker timeline. Currently, Spotify is offering new subscribers a two-month free trial.
Competitors like Tidal and Deezer are still offering the standard 30-days trial for new customers. Of the major streaming services, only Amazon Music Unlimited is still offering a 90-day trial for new listeners. A recent survey of people who stream their music found that 19% had canceled or were considering canceling their Spotify subscription.
Neil Young has inspired several artists to remove their music from Spotify. His long-term collaborators Crosby, Stills, and Nash have all requested their music as a unit and solo to be pulled from Spotify. India Arie said she must “walk through the door” Neil Young opened by leaving Spotify as a platform over Joe Rogan and his comments about race.
Spotify’s stock continues to plummet in the aftermath of the online row. It’s unclear how much of an impact this will have on user growth – which Spotify projects to slow over the course of 2022 anyway. The major podcast land grab that Spotify has engaged in since 2020 is a means to turn itself into more than just a music streaming company. Spotify wants to make it hard for listeners to quit because their favorite podcasts also happen to be exclusively available on Spotify.
