Apple Music Subscribers Can Stream Songs Without Buying Wi-Fi on American Airlines Flights in U.S. Starting Friday

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that, starting February 1, Apple Music subscribers can access Apple Music on any American Airlines flight in the United States equipped with Viasat satellite technology with no Wi-Fi purchase required.

American Airlines is the first commercial airline to provide exclusive access to Apple Music through complimentary inflight Wi-Fi. This applies to the iPhone and likely extends to the iPad, Mac or PC, and Android smartphones.

American Airlines will also be offering a collection of unique city-themed playlists through Apple Music starting February 1.

Article Link: Apple Music Subscribers Can Stream Songs Without Buying Wi-Fi on American Airlines Flights in U.S. Starting Friday

 

[StoneJack]

Love it

 

[4look4rd]

Net neutrality is a losing battle really.

 

[martyjmclean]

Free streaming is all good, but it doesn't help that Apple Music lacks behind Spotify in features, UI and customers.
Offering complementaries is useless, if the product itself isn't as complimentary as its competitor.

 

[az431]

Free streaming is all good, but it doesn't help that Apple Music lacks behind Spotify in features, UI and customers.
Offering complementaries is useless, if the product itself isn't as complimentary as its competitor.

50 million people disagree.
[doublepost=1548854411][/doublepost]

Net neutrality is a losing battle really.

How is this a net neutrality issue? If you connect to the internet during the flight you can listen to any streaming service you want.

 

[SamuelFleming]

Free streaming is all good, but it doesn't help that Apple Music lacks behind Spotify in features, UI and customers.
Offering complementaries is useless, if the product itself isn't as complimentary as its competitor.

I think this isn't as much a selling point for Apple Music as it is for American Airlines. If it becomes something all airlines offer then it is a selling point for apple music.

To me, this is a brilliant move by American since there will definitely be people who will look to book on American over competitors.

 

[EvilEvil]

I don't even Apple Music and refuse to fly with American Airlines.

 

[Apple_Robert]

That is a nice perk for travelers.

 

[AlliFlowers]

I fly Delta if humanly possible, but this certainly gives me pause. Maybe my next flight will be with American.

 

[BvizioN]

Free streaming is all good, but it doesn't help that Apple Music lacks behind Spotify in features, UI and customers.
Offering complementaries is useless, if the product itself isn't as complimentary as its competitor.

Just curious, what is it wrong with Apple music? I am using both Spotify and Apple Music (got 6 months free Apple Music as a part of a deal) but I can't honestly see any difference, apart from some dark theme on the Spotify which I tend to like it a bit more.

 

[708692]

Net neutrality is a losing battle really.

Agreed. You can look at this as free wifi, but you have to pay for certain services (ie. everything that isn't apple music). This is not treating all data the same.

 

[calstanford]

This is the horrible **** that happens with loss of net neutrality. Why only Apple Music? Why not Spotify or Google or whatever? Why only music? Data is data...

 

[nvmls]

Good move, although I agree with many that content-wise Apple Music is not very appealing unless you like rap & most commercial stuff (which is totally fine).

 

[prasand]

Agreed. You can look at this as free wifi, but you have to pay for certain services (ie. everything that isn't apple music). This is not treating all data the same.

For a few years music streaming wasn't considered the same as regular data with a number of telephone companies. For example, T-Mobile did that for many years. I don't think they ever stopped.

 

[BuffaloTF]

This is the horrible **** that happens with loss of net neutrality. Why only Apple Music? Why not Spotify or Google or whatever? Why only music? Data is data...

This isn't a Net Neutrality issue in any way, shape, or form. It isn't that hard to figure that much out.

American charges for WiFi access on their flights. For Apple Music, they won't make you pay. American Airlines isn't an ISP, they purchase internet access themselves - then charge the passenger for access to it.

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

How is this a net neutrality issue? If you connect to the internet during the flight you can listen to any streaming service you want.

Well, connecting to the internet during a flight costs money. Apple music is now complimentary. Therefore Apple music has an advantage. Therefore it does matter what service you are using. Therefore the internet connection on the flight is not neutral.

This case is really the definition of net neutrality.
[doublepost=1548856083][/doublepost]

This isn't a Net Neutrality issue in any way, shape, or form. It isn't that hard to figure that much out.

American charges for WiFi access on their flights. For Apple Music, they won't make you pay. American Airlines isn't an ISP, they purchase internet access themselves - then charge the passenger for access to it.

Of course they act as an ISP in this case. They literally provide internet service during the flight.

 

[ctg7w6]

I am honestly getting sick of “exclusives”. The video game industry has gotten aweful... games come out a month earlier on some systems, dlcs come out earlier. Messed up thing recently was that if you preordered a higher tier version of the game it unlocked two days early. This is getting ridiculous.

 

[pankajdoharey]

Meh who cares, yippie sound cloud.

 

[martyjmclean]

50 million people disagree.

170 million people do agree.

Just curious, what is it wrong with Apple music? I am using both Spotify and Apple Music (got 6 months free Apple Music as a part of a deal) but I can't honestly see any difference, apart from some dark theme on the Spotify which I tend to like it a bit more.

Spotify was designed by people who love music, Apple Music was designed by people who love selling a service. This is apparent in how the UI is laid out, a free plan for those who can't justify a paid plan, the quality of curated playlists and algorithms, offering of exclusive live albums, collaborative playlists, end of year statistics, concert information and tickets, and the ability to instantly switch between (almost all) devices with Spotify Connect.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Well, connecting to the internet during a flight costs money. Apple music is now complimentary. Therefore Apple music has an advantage. Therefore it does matter what service you are using. Therefore the internet connection on the flight is not neutral.

This case is really the definition of net neutrality.
[doublepost=1548856083][/doublepost]

Of course they act as an ISP in this case. They literally provide internet service during the flight.

That's some serious mental gymnastics you're pulling and still landing on your face.

Net Neutrality is about an ISP not shaping traffic to favor certain services. IE, Comcast owning NBC providing more bandwidth to serve the NBC app while providing lesser service to Netflix or charging them more to deliver their traffic; or AT&T owning HBO providing more bandwidth to serve HBO Now. It was never about you getting free internet from Starbucks, who can do whatever the hell they want to give you access to what they've purchased.

American Airlines does not provide you internet service. They purchase that from Gogo. American Airlines is only giving you the password to their router, so to speak.

 

[apachie2k]

50 million people disagree.
[doublepost=1548854411][/doublepost]

How is this a net neutrality issue? If you connect to the internet during the flight you can listen to any streaming service you want.

It is a net neutrality issue because it doesn't treat all data the same - Apple has a competitive advantage on the internet because it uses it's resources to strike deals with AA and certain ISP's (get ready Comcast and ATT is coming soon)

 

[macguru212]

I don't use either one. I'm Delta man (or ANA if applicable).

Apple Music is becoming a temptation though, there is so much music to explore beyond my limited collection.

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

That's some serious mental gymnastics you're pulling and still landing on your face.

Net Neutrality is about an ISP not shaping traffic to favor certain services. IE, Comcast owning NBC providing more bandwidth to serve the NBC app while providing lesser service to Netflix or charging them more to deliver their traffic; or AT&T owning HBO providing more bandwidth to serve HBO Now. It was never about you getting free internet from Starbucks, who can do whatever the hell they want to give you access to what they've purchased.

American Airlines does not provide you internet service. They purchase that from Gogo. American Airlines is only giving you the password to their router, so to speak.

It's not about getting free wifi. It is also not about conglomerates and their subsidiaries. It is about treating all data equally. Are they doing this? No. Case closed.

 

[ersan191]

ITT you will find Spotify users screeching incessantly even though they would literally never use the feature.

As if the airline WiFi didn’t have different tiers for what specific services you want to use before suddenly this is an affront to net neutrality...

 

[BuffaloTF]

It's not about getting free wifi. It is also not about conglomerates and their subsidiaries. It is about treating all data equally. Are they doing this? No. Case closed.

No, it’s about you not understanding what Net Neutrality is and throwing around terms you don’t understand and have no business discussing because of that.

The ISP is Gogo or ViaSat. Period.

American Airlines buys from them. They can sell it to you and tell you what you can and cannot do with it. They are not the ISP and never will be. This is not a Net Neutrality issue, no matter how much you want to stand on a soapbox and try to make it one. It’s literally the same as Starbucks blocking P0rn Hub, NOT a net neutrality issue. They’re providing you access to internet THEY purchased, and they can damn well tell you what you can and cannot do with it. The ISP’s ability to serve the content is not a question.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/28/18116576/starbucks-public-wi-fi-porn-block