Apple is reportedly now charging listeners in some markets for what was previously a completely free trial of its streaming music service. According to AppleInsider, people in Australia, Spain, and Switzerland will be charged 99 cents for three months of preliminary access to the Apple Music platform. In other markets, that three-month trial appears to still be free of charge.
Some streaming services offer discounted pricing at this rate, as a way to encourage free tier listeners to upgrade to a paid subscription. Spotify periodically runs a three-month deal for $1 and has explored other approaches to bundling other benefits with a music subscription. SoundCloud recently started a similar price cut to attract listeners to its paid tier. Apple’s only comment so far on this shift was simply that “pricing and promotions for Apple Music vary from country to country,” so the motivation for this shift is unclear.