As the week wound down, Apple slipped in a piece of news no music listener wants to hear. The company has raised the subscription price of its streaming service, Apple Music, and the new rates are already in effect. The one small consolation is that not every customer will feel it, people on one particular kind of plan get to keep paying exactly what they did before.
Pop over to Apple Music's official plans page and the change is easy to spot. A solo individual subscription now runs $11.99 a month, up a dollar from the old $10.99. New sign-ups still get their first month free. Students face the same one-dollar bump, taking their rate to $6.99 from $5.99. The sharpest sting lands on family plans, which leap $3 to $19.99 a month, up from $16.99.
The Apple One loophole
If you get Apple Music bundled inside an Apple One subscription, you may sidestep the increase, at least partly. The individual Apple One tier is still holding at $19.95, untouched. Every other Apple One bundle, however, is moving up. The family bundle now costs $27.95, a $2 rise from $25.95, while the top-shelf Premier bundle climbs to $39.95 from $37.95.
Why Apple says the prices rose
Apple pinned the blame on its own costs. In a statement, the company said the increase stems from "rising licensing costs," noting that the new pricing kicks in today. In other words, what Apple pays to keep songs available on the service is being framed as the root of the whole hike.
How to stretch out a free trial
Nobody enjoys paying more, but there are still ways to sample the service without spending a cent. Anyone new to Apple Music can try it free for a full month before any charge lands. One caution worth remembering: hold off on that one-month offer if a new Apple gadget is on your shopping list. Buying fresh Apple hardware unlocks a far longer three-month free run instead, and the list of devices that qualify is a long one.
The products that earn the three-month trial include the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple TV, AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, along with Beats headphones and speakers, and both the HomePod and HomePod mini.
