Verizon has announced a new and exclusive promotion in partnership with Apple. Unlimited users are now entitled to six free months of Apple Music, which is twice the length of Apple's free trial for new customers.
Subscribers of the Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, or Above Unlimited plans are all eligible for the promotion, and the good news is that the offer extends to current users of Apple Music as well, not just new ones. In other words, those already subscribed won't have to pay their typical monthly fee for the next six months.
Verizon says the promotion kicks off Aug. 16.
Verizon Partners With Apple For Free Apple Music
It's not exactly clear Why Verizon is offering this all of a sudden, but it could be a ploy to counter the free perks its rival networks are giving to subscribers. For instance, AT&T gives customers WatchTV and their choice of a premium subscription service. T-Mobile offers free Netflix. Sprint's unlimited data package bundles both Hulu and Tidal for free. The only downside to Verizon's upcoming perk is that it'll only last for six months, whereas other networks' shticks have kept on going.
Verizon's VP of marketing, Angie Klein, said in a statement that this is just the start of its partnership with the Cupertino brand. Klein doesn't specify what other promotional gimmicks will come in the future, but it's clear the carrier has more in store.
"This first-of-its-kind offer is just the first step in an exclusive partnership with Apple," said Klein. "It gives our customers exactly what they want: Apple's best-in-class music streaming experience, paired with an unlimited plan tailored to them, on the network they deserve."
Verizon first announced the above-mentioned unlimited plans earlier this year, offering customers unlimited mobile data for a set monthly fee. Why Verizon chose to go with Apple instead of Spotify is unclear, but Apple Music is slowly becoming the top-performing music streaming service in the United States, and reports in July alleged that Apple's service had managed to eclipse Spotify's user base in the country.
Apple Music vs Spotify
Apple Music now has well over 40 million users as it continues to climb toward potentially outperforming Spotify, although that's still quite far from happening considering Spotify is still the top dog when it comes to global numbers. The two services aren't that much different, though. Save for their respective user interfaces and individual music recommendation engines, both are actually very similar. Apple Music does often get exclusive albums, though, which is something to consider if you're trying to choose between the two.
