It Remains Unclear Why Apple Music Removed Free 3-Month Trial In 3 Countries

There are three countries where Apple Music suddenly removed the free three-month trials period. These are in Australia, Spain, and Switzerland. Until May 14, the three-month free trial offer was still good. However, Apple rescinded the policy for an unknown reason but kept the trial still free in the rest of the world.

With the change in policy, new Apple Music subscribers in Australia must now pay a monthly fee of 99 cents, 0.99 euro in Spain, and 0.99 Swiss franc in Switzerland, MacRumors reports. It is the same fee for Spotify, Apple Music’s competitor, in the three countries. But Spotify’s free trial period is a shorter seven days for subscribers who did not have a Premium account before.

9TO5Mac’s guess is that Apple Music’s change in policy is a competition move because Spotify has similar charges in the three countries. Apple’s three-month free trial period was controversial at the streaming service’s launch because the Cupertino-based tech giant initially planned not to pay royalties to artists during the free-trial period.

However, a lot of artists, led by singer Taylor Swift, protested the non-payment of royalties that Apple Music had to reverse the unpopular policy and pay artists whose music were streamed for free during the trial period. Apple Insider thinks the Cupertino-based tech giant could be attempting to recover the cost of the free three-month trial in other nations other than Australia, Spain, and Switzerland.

The tech website adds that despite a minimal fee being charged now in the three countries, it would likely not stop music lovers in Australia, Spain, and Switzerland from signing up for a three-month trial period. It notes that Spotify, the music streaming giant which controls 43 percent of the market, has charges higher than what Apple Music collects from trial users in the tree nations. In the U.S., the three-month trial period with Spotify costs $9.99, but it offers a free ad-supported tier.