Sprint and Spotify are working to push the streaming music service out to the wireless carrier’s customers.
Sprint and Spotify Plan to Partner Up
Beats and AT&T tried it earlier this year. Here comes another pairing.
Peter Kafka covered media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.
A planned tie-up between the two companies, similar to one already under way with AT&T and Beats Music, will feature free Spotify trials for Sprint customers and will give them the ability to pay for the service using the carrier’s billing system, according to people familiar with the plan. Some Sprint customers may also qualify for discounts on Spotify’s premium service, which costs $9.99 a month.
Sprint plans on announcing the deal at an event in New York City on April 29, sources say. The deal will require approval from the music labels that license their music to Spotify, so it’s possible that the pact could be delayed.
Subscription music services have linked up with wireless carriers and pay TV companies outside of the U.S. Until this year, however, none of the major wireless companies in the U.S. were aligned with music services. In January, Beats launched in conjunction with AT&T, with a program similar to the one Sprint and Spotify are planning.
Beats’ deal with AT&T gives AT&T family plan customers a discount on Beats’ $9.99 per month price, by letting up to five people share the service for $15 a month. Sprint and Spotify will do something similar for people who use Sprint’s “Framily” plan, sources said.
Last year, Spotify announced that it had six million subscribers worldwide, but company officials have been telling music industry officials that the number is now closer to nine million. But the company officials, who are working their way toward a public offering, have also conceded that the service has yet to reach most mainstream music listeners.
Representatives of Sprint and Spotify declined comment.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
