AT&T No Longer Offering Beats Music Subscriptions to Customers

[MacRumors]

AT&T is no longer offering Beats Music subscriptions to its subscribers as an add-on service, according to an AT&T employee who spoke to MacRumors. The cellular company has ceased giving customers the option to sign up for Beats Music when purchasing a new phone plan and the Beats Music website has been updated to remove its "Subscribe with AT&T" options.

AT&T employees have also been instructed to stop selling Beats Music subscriptions to customers, suggesting the partnership between Beats Music and AT&T has come to an end following Apple's Beats acquisition.

AT&T subscription options formerly offered on the Beats Music Pricing page​

Beats Music and AT&T first struck an exclusive deal shortly before the service's initial debut, with AT&T offering multiple Beats Music subscription options, including a family pack that allowed users to share Beats Music with up to five family members. AT&T also offered extended trial periods of up to 90 days and promoted the music service to customers both online and in-store.

It's likely the deal between Beats Music and AT&T has ended due to Apple's $3 billion purchase of both Beats Music and Beats Electronics in May, but it is unclear why AT&T has been able to continue to offer Beats Music subscriptions up until October.

Rumors have suggested that Apple has plans to rebrand Beats Music, and its upcoming retooling may also be the reason behind the dissolution of the AT&T partnership. Along with changing the Beats Music name, Apple is said to be planning to introduce new features and it is also hoping to offer the service at a lower cost, asking music labels to cut their rates.

It is unknown when Apple plans to reveal its revamped music service, but rumors have hinted that its debut could come alongside the 2015 Grammy Awards in February, which means that Apple engineers and designers are likely already hard at work on the rebranding.

Update: Reached for comment, an AT&T spokesman gave the following statement:

There haven't been any changes for AT&T customers who currently have the Beats Music family plan or who are within their free trial period. New subscribers can still get Beats Music through their app store or at beatsmusic.com.

Article Link: AT&T No Longer Offering Beats Music Subscriptions to Customers

 

[iThinkIt]

That's just dandy.. there are so many free options why would anyone subscribe to a paid option.

 

[Nunyabinez]

which means that Apple engineers and designers are likely already hard at work on the rebranding.

Wouldn't it be marketers working on the rebranding and engineers working on retooling?

 

[CFreymarc]

Not to mention that they under promoted this feature.

 

[Patriot24]

there are so many free options why would anyone subscribe to a paid option.

You get what you pay for. None of the free options come close to what Spotify or Beats offer.

 

[ImSoSad]

deal breaker for me. I only recently started juicing and was really counting on getting those fresh beets every month

 

[DTphonehome]

I can't imagine this was a hugely popular feature.

 

[BigBeast]

annoying.

Post removed in 5... 4... 3...

 

[InfoTime]

I currently subscribe to Beats through ATT. Will that go away now?

 

[CrazyForApple]

Who would want AT&T anyways?

 

[spectrumfox]

What does Beats provide that other music services such as Pandora or Spotify don't? I've never once thought I need a third music service.

 

[goobot]

Well add that 3 month trial and that must mean late January early February changes to beats sounds about right.

 

[ANTAWNM26]

You get what you pay for. None of the free options come close to what Spotify or Beats offer.

please explain the the differences

 

[goobot]

What does Beats provide that other music services such as Pandora or Spotify don't? I've never once thought I need a third music service.

Play any song you want at will and no ads.

 

[poematik13]

why do people pay money every month for a limited selection of music thats only online and full of ad trackers/marketing spyware that monetizes your activity and preferences?

i dont get the streaming music fad at all. its incredibly anti-consumer.

 

[ANTAWNM26]

I can't imagine this was a hugely popular feature.

And its not....

 

[neuropsychguy]

Play any song you want at will and no ads.

That sure sounds like a Spotify subscription.

 

[bushido]

Play any song you want at will and no ads.

huh? thats the main purpose of Spotify

why do people pay money every month for a limited selection of music thats only online and full of ad trackers/marketing spyare that monetizes your activity and preferences?

i dont get the streaming music fad at all. its incredibly anti-consumer.

I LOVE IT especially since the supscription through T-Mobile gives u access to Spotify without any of the music streaming counting towards ur data volume. I havent pirated music in like 2 years, it has all the music abd albums i want and helps me discover artists i never heard of before oh and u can save the music for offline listening too. plus the playlists r just awesome. instead of downloading each song of the itunes top 100 or billboard top 100 illegally for example i can just search for a playlist on spotify and have all the music at my disposal by one click. buying music seems dated to me, i barely listen to an album for longer than a month if i even make it through the whole album

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

What does Beats provide that other music services such as Pandora or Spotify don't? I've never once thought I need a third music service.

Beats is owned by Apple, so it's in transition from something far inferior to those two to soon be group spun as far superior. Soon it will be a bunch of "I used to like <one of those two> but Beats is so much better". Not long thereafter Beats headphones will be the best headphones in the world.

 

[goobot]

huh? thats the main purpose of Spotify

I meant in comparison to like pandora. I guess it is a direct competitor to spotify.

 

[darkslide29]

That sucks. I was just about to sign up for the 3 month trial through ATT today. Mere minutes away from doing so!

 

[spectrumfox]

I meant in comparison to like pandora. I guess it is a direct competitor to spotify.

If you subscribe to Pandora One, you don't get ads either.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

What does Beats provide that other music services such as Pandora or Spotify don't? I've never once thought I need a third music service.

Very nice curated playlists based on your favorite genres from actual people (sometimes famous people, athletes, etc) - not software. Dive into these playlists and pick and choose songs if you'd like. Add them to your Library and play them whenever you choose. Beats Music is fantastic. App is very well designed. Worth the $9.99/month for me thus far.

 

[Patriot24]

please explain the the differences

Free services like Pandora and iTunes Radio are radio stations with ads. There are restrictions on the number of times you can play songs, skip songs, and you cannot create your own playlists. You are at the mercy of whoever is behind the scenes (mostly computers via algorithms) that are putting together the playlists.

Paid services like Spotify and Beats give you unlimited and ad-free access to millions of songs. You can create playlists, listen to songs as many times as you please, etc. You also have access to curated playlists from celebrities, musicians, and other notable folks. You can also share playlists with friends if you desire.

 

[spectrumfox]

Beats is owned by Apple, so it's in transition from something far inferior to those two to soon be group spun as far superior. Soon it will be a bunch of "I used to like <one of those two> but Beats is so much better". Not long thereafter Beats headphones will be the best headphones in the world.

The only way I can see Beats being better than Pandora and Spotify is if the rumors are true and Apple is building an iTunes subscription service.

Then and only then can I see myself saying "Beats is so much better".