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.
