Skip to main content

Beats Music service is coming soon, but its family plan is exclusive to AT&T

beats music family plan arrives january 21 exclusively att i  hd edit
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re not satisfied with Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, or any of the other music streaming services available, then mark your calendar for January 21, 2014. It’s the date Beats Music, built off the success of the Dr. Dre-branded headphones, will become available for iOS, Android, Windows devices, and the Web for $10 a month. Along with its unveiling will be an AT&T-exclusive family plan for the service, which will run $15 a month.

For the standard subscriber, $10 a month will allow a single user to stream music from the Beats Music library of 20 million songs on three separate devices. AT&T customers can pay $5 more a month to allow up to five users to listen to music across 10 devices. There’s a bit of a catch here: those who want in on the family plan will have to have a multi-line account with AT&T.

AT&T subscribers will also have more of a chance to decide if they want in on the Beats Music service. While non-AT&T customers get a 7 day trial, single AT&T customers get a full 30 day tryout and AT&T families can test out Beats Music free for 90 days. AT&T subscribers are getting some big favoritism, though there has been no indication that Beats Music will embrace AT&T’s Sponsored Data feature to buy the data costs of its users.

Beats Music will start with a sizable library that not only can be streamed but can also be downloaded and stored locally for as long as a user is subscribed to the service. It will also feature a fill-in-the-blank style search engine that will help create a playlist for users based on their answers. Still, we hope no part of the actual Beats Music service will be limited simply because of a person’s choice in mobile carriers.

Editors' Recommendations

AJ Dellinger
AJ Dellinger is a freelance reporter from Madison, Wisconsin with an affinity for all things tech. He has been published by…
Spotify could launch its HiFi lossless audio tier any day now
Spotify app and earbud.

In February, Spotify announced its ambitions to join the increasingly popular lossless audio space with a new subscription tier called Spotify HiFi. At the time, the streaming music company was silent regarding pricing or the potential timing for the new tier's debut, but a recently spotted video suggests it could happen imminently.

Late last week, Reddit user Nickx000x posted a video to the Spotify subreddit that appears to show an introductory animation for Spotify HiFi. The video -- spotted first by WhatHiFi? -- looks like it's designed to take Spotify mobile app users through the quick process of understanding what Spotify HiFi is, how it works, and how to know if they're actually getting the higher-quality lossless audio stream on their device.

Read more
Amazon Music now has a car mode, but don’t use it while driving
Amazon Music Car Mode

The Amazon Music app for iOS and Android now comes with an optional car mode that offers up a simplified interface that can automatically launch as soon as you connect to your car's Bluetooth system.

It looks like the ideal solution for those who don't have an infotainment system that's compatible with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto but want to stream music from Amazon Music while driving. According to an email from Amazon's PR partner, the new feature was designed "to limit extensive browsing while driving." Curiously, however, on the webpage that promotes car mode, Amazon warns its customers that they should not "interact with this app while operating your vehicle." Which naturally raises the question: Why give the app a car mode at all?

Read more
Apple launches Apple Music Radio with rebranded Beats 1 radio, new stations
apple rebrands beats 1 radio to music adds new stations preview

Apple renamed its Beats 1 radio station to Apple Music 1 and added two new radio stations to the Apple Music lineup. 

The Beats 1 radio station was Apple’s flagship global radio station when it fist introduced Apple Music in 2015. The station will still have the same live radio content under its new name. 

Read more