Tidal’s new family streaming plan costs more than Apple Music

By Stephanie Topacio Long July 8, 2015

tidal posts 28 million loss for 2015 over 100 unpaid bills announcement — Kevin Mazur/Getty

Being a student isn’t the only way to save on a Tidal subscription anymore. Jay-Z’s hi-fi streaming service now offers a family plan that lowers the monthly per subscriber rate. This move comes after the June 30 launch of Apple Music and its relatively inexpensive family membership.

As far as pricing goes, Tidal’s family plan allows users to subscribe with 1-4 others, with the rate per member dropping as more users are added. Based on the service’s pricing for the premium plan, the rates are roughly that of an individual subscription, $9.99, plus 50 percent off the price of each additional user’s membership. A plan with two users costs $14.98 per month, whereas a plan for five comes out to $29.95 per month. For subscribers to the service’s hi-fi tier, the numbers go up considerably: $19.99 per month, plus $9.99 per additional user, maxing out at $59.95. Spotify’s family plan charges are similar to Tidal’s premium tier: $9.99 a month for an individual subscription, with 50 percent off each additional membership.

Compared to Apple Music, both Tidal and Spotify’s rates are high; six users can be on the same Apple music family membership for $14.99.

After pricing information for Apple Music’s family plan came out, Spotify’s global head of communications and public policy, Jonathan Price, told The Verge that the company expects “to offer competitive pricing everywhere in the near future,” seemingly hinting that price cuts could be coming. None have so far, however, and with Tidal rolling out a plan more like Spotify’s, it seems that streaming services are approaching family plans with caution in spite of Apple Music’s lower pricing. Given that Apple’s streaming service is still in its infancy, Tidal and Spotify are smart to wait and see, and perhaps focus their efforts on improving user experience instead. After all, users who signed up for trial periods on June 30 still have more than two months of free Apple Music to go.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Stephanie Topacio Long

Contributor

Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

Audio / Video

Spotify family plan members required to prove they live at the same address

Spotify will require family plan members to prove that they are all living at the same address, in a revived initiative to prevent abuse of the subscription option.

The Spotify Premium Family Plan, which goes for $15 per month, allows up to six accounts to enjoy the perks of premium membership, including ad-free listening and on-demand playback. The family plan is equivalent to $2.50 per member, which is much cheaper compared to an individual subscription for $10 per month.

Audio / Video

Spotify’s improved family plan features now available to new subscribers

Spotify might be the biggest music streaming service on the planet, but you can't accuse it of resting on its laurels. It continues to add features on a seemingly constant basis. The most current example is an update to Spotify's family plan, which adds parental controls for the account that pays the bills. The update is now available to all new subscribers in the U.S., and existing Family Plan members will get it starting next week. Spotify previously said it would notify existing members when the new features are available.

The update gives those with family plans several new features, but the big one is the ability for the main account holder to block or allow songs with explicit content for each sub-account associated with the plan. The company said this feature was heavily requested, and it makes sense: Individual users have always had the option to block explicit content if they chose, but there's been no way for parents or guardians to make that decision on behalf of their kids. With the update, parents now have a way to filter content from a centralized location, which ups the ante against Apple Music, which can filter explicit content, but requires parents to enable it on a device-by-device basis. Prents also need access to their kids' devices to do it. Google Play's parental controls work similarly, as does Pandora's.

Mobile

Apple Music rolls out New Music Daily to keep you updated with the latest songs

Apple Music on Apple Watch

Apple Music has rolled out a new playlist named New Music Daily, which aims to keep subscribers updated with the latest songs as the world's most popular artists release them.

In its description, New Music Daily is the home for "the latest must-hear songs," and it is updated every day. The lead single in the first-ever edition of the playlist is The Man by Taylor Swift, from her new album Lover. Apple Music will be featuring different lead artists in the artwork for the playlist as its contents change daily.