According to a report on Monday, Apple is plotting a Beats Music price cut, which would see the subscriptions to the streaming service sliced in half.
Recode believes Apple is haggling with music industry executives to review its terms in order to offer Beats Music for $5 (around £3) a month, rather than $10 (£6).
The report claims Apple wants to reduce the price of the service to $60 a year, which it says is what heavy iTunes users spend on buying digital music every year.
If Apple gets its way with the reported plan, which seems unlikely to impress record labels, a $5 tariff would give Apple a significant advantage over Beats’ key rival Spotify, which charges $10 a month.
Apple inherited Beats Music when it paid $3 billion to acquire the headphones company.
Today’s report may reveal the true nature of Apple’s plans.
The news comes as Spotify revealed its new Family plan, which allows subscribers’ family members to sign up for a reduced rate of $5 a month.
Should a price war among the streaming services begin, it would be great news for the consumer, but very bad news for artists, whom already struggle with the limited income from streaming services.
Are you happy with paying $10 a month for premium, unlimited, ad-free access to practically every song you’ve ever loved, knowing you’re contributing to artists’ pocket books? Or do you think it’s only worth a fiver? Share your thoughts below.
Read more: iTunes Radio vs Spotify
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
