Earlier this year, Samsung debuted Milk, its very own music streaming service. The company launched Milk as a product that is free of charge and ad-free for a limited time, though the South Korean giant did not specify how long this limited time would last.
After being on the market for over a month, Samsung has chosen to drop the free to play tag. The company is planning to launch what it calls a "Premium Service" for Milk that will require customers to pay $3.99 every month. This new service will be free of ads, and will include exclusive features, but Samsung did not specify what these exclusive features would entail.
The infographic post was apparently taken down by the company.
"We're continuously looking at ways we can enhance Milk Music with new features to deliver the best radio-listening experience for our consumers. We don't have additional information to share right now, but stay tuned," Samsung stated.
Consumers who do not want to pay $3.99 per month for Milk, worry not, Samsung will still offer the free version of the service though it will not be free of advertisements. This should make some users very happy, and could also pave the way for future paying customers as the user base increases.
Samsung's introduction of a premium service does not come as a surprise. In the current music market, many music services have both free and premium options, though as you may have expected, the free service with ads is limited.
What makes Milk quite interesting when compared to other premium music services available right now, is that it only costs $3.99 compared to the standard $9.99. We're not exactly sure what $3.99 will get users, but as it stands right now, it seems like a better deal when compared to well-established music services.
The big question is though: can Milk compete at $3.99 per month?
Very much possible, if users can live without some of their favorite songs. At the moment, Milk has just over 13 million songs in its database. This is a far cry when compared to the likes of iTunes, Spotify, and Xbox Music. Samsung would have to increase this amount to match that of its competitors, but by then, the $3.99 price-tag may very well increase to $9.99.
With Samsung's huge fan base, thanks to the Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets, Milk could be a force to be reckoned with in the future to come. However, for now, it is just another music streaming service looking to ride with the big boys.
