Apple Music, the new song-streaming platform that started rolling out yesterday, is currently free for everyone while the company shows off how cool its new product is. After the three-month trial period that we’re all enjoying, however, using the full set of features will cost you.
But for people in developing countries, the burn won’t be nearly as bad.
While Apple Music customers will be paying $10 a month for an individual plan and $15 for a family of up to six people, customers in India will only be paying the equivalent of $1.89 (120 rupees) and $2.99 (190 rupees) for individual and family plans, respectively. Brazilian users will only have to pay $4.99/$7.99, Hong Kong is getting it for $6.19/$10.06, and Slovakia’s plans will cost $6.62/$9.94. This is just a sampling, and prices are different everywhere.
Not everyone’s enjoying a discount against the U.S. costs, however. Italian music fans will have to cough up €9.99/€14.99, which looks to be in line with the U.S. price until you remember that a Euro is worth more than an American dollar. So they’re “really” paying $11.05/$16.57 for the service.
And U.K. customers may have it worst of all with their strong British pounds. Their £9.99/£14.99 plans translate to $15.60 and $23.41.
It seems that Apple is using these extra funds to subsidize the costs for developing countries. Or they’re just pricing Apple Music on a sliding scale across different regions. Either way, being a music-loving Brit is about to get slightly expensive in a few months.
Via: Quartz