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Major Apps and Subscriptions (1)
Sirius XM, Amazon Music, Tidal, Spotify, and LiveXLive provide various subscription packages that target different demographics and are paid either monthly or annually. The companies also attract users by providing various incentives to their subscription plans including free plans with the option of upgrading, subscription discounts and customized content made available through partnerships with other companies in the industry.
SUBSCRIPTION MODELS
#1 Sirius XM
- Sirius XM, run a subscription model that is payable per month.
- The company has four major packages that provides subscribers with different content options that include music, news, sports, and video services either online via a PC or tablet or via their app.
- These packages vary in price as well as the type of content offered.
- The subscription packages include All Access which costs $20.99/month, Select which costs $15.99/month, Premier which costs $13/Month, and Essential which costs $8/month.
- All Access, Select, and Essential are the most popular subscription packages among consumers.
App/Services Pricing Structure
- Sirius XM has an app called SXM app which is available for both iOS and android.
- The app is free to download and there are no in-app purchases.
Partnerships
- In February 2019 Sirius XM completed their acquisition of Pandora after the deal was agreed upon in September and approved in November 2018.
- The partnership has helped both companies to have a reach of over 100 million listeners by combining Pandora’s streaming services and Sirius XM’s exclusive content and programming.
- Together they have created the world’s largest audio entertainment company.
- They hope that together they’ll be able to lead the way in digital music.
#2 Amazon Music
- Amazon Music unlimited, has only two major subscription models that includes a pay monthly model and an annual pay model. (S2)
- For Amazon Prime members, there is an incentive of a $2 discount for the monthly subscription and, therefore they get to enjoy the unlimited music service for $7.99 whereas non-prime members pay $9.99 per month for the same service.
- The incentive provided to Amazon Prime members helps to push for brand loyalty as well as encourage others to become Amazon Prime members so they may get to enjoy discounted service benefits.
App/Services Pricing Structure
- Amazon music app is free to download on both Android and iOS.
- The iOS version has some in-app purchases.
#3 Tidal
- Tidal offers several subscription models that are more demographically oriented.
- The company offers eight different subscription packages on a pay per month basis including: Premium — $9.99/month, HiFi — $19.99/month, Family Premium — $14.99/month, Family HiFi — $29.99/month, Student Premium — $4.99/month, Student HiFi — $9.99/month, Military Premium — $5.99/month, and Military HiFi — $11.99/month.
App/Services Pricing Structure
- Tidal can be downloaded for iOS and Android for free, but it app has in-app purchases.
- The app provides different pricing structures according to the subscription package.
Partnerships
- In 2018, Tidal announced its partnership with Samsung T.V., with the goal of launching a TV app.
#4 Spotify
- Spotify offers four major packages, three of which are paid monthly and one which is free but includes adverts.
- Other incentives from the company include discounts, trials, and other deals.
- The subscription packages of Spotify include Premium — $9.99/month, Premium Family Package — $14.99/month, and Premium Student — $4.99/month.
- All the paid packages are inclusive of Hulu ad support and Showtime at no extra cost.
App/Services Pricing Structure
- Spotify offers a free app, which allows its users to listen to music on-the-go through their smartphones for free.
- Users who already have upgraded their subscription to premium, get to enjoy more premium content.
- The in-app purchases for the app on iOS costs $12.99/month.
Partnerships
- Spotify and Samsung have had a partnership for quite some time, and recently they decided to extend their partnership by offering 6 months premium subscription on selected Samsung devices.
#5 LiveXLive
- LiveXLive has an offer running through Inverse that includes a pay per year package or pays per 5 years subscription plan.
- The cost of per year subscription plan is $47.88 while the 5-year plan costs $239.40.
- The company offers additional packages through it app that include LiveXLive Plus — $3.99 and LiveXlive Premium — $9.99.
App Pricing structure/Partnership
- At the end of 2017, LiveXLive acquired Slacker Radio at the costs of $50 million, a collaboration that gave birth to the LiveXLive App which is available on android and iOS.
- The new app offers one-touch access to "live events, audio streams, original episodic content, podcasts, video on demand, real-time live streams, and social sharing of content". (S10)
- The new LiveXLive app can be downloaded for iOS and Android devices, free of charge.
- Users also have the option to upgrade to advert-free premiums such as LiveXLive Plus for $3.99/month or the LiveXlive Premium for $9.99/month.
Research Strategy:
We were able to obtain relevant information regarding subscription model for the following companies: Sirius XM, Amazon Music, Tidal, Spotify, and LiveXLive from the official websites of the company as well as from press release databases and media outlets