Free music for EE customers… for six months at least
Britain's largest mobile phone carrier has announced a tie-up with Apple Music that will see customers receive a free six month subscription.
EE – now owned by telecoms giant BT – said that any new monthly customers or those renewing their contracts could benefit from the free service.
“The deal is a coup for EE that will strengthen its position at the premium end of the market. It will hope to encourage upgrade, boost retention and drive migration to higher data packages. The timing, just weeks before the rumoured launch of the iPhone 7, is particularly favourable," said Kester Mann of CCS Insight.
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Apple see this as an opportunity to rival other music providers such as Spotify who have similar agreements with UK networks. For EE it is the next step to providing greater multi-media content on its monthly packages.
Music is believed to be an area of strategic development for the US-giant after it paid $3bn for headphone manufacturer Beats in 2014.
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"For Apple, the deal reinforces an accelerating emphasis on services, which now represent its second-biggest product category behind the iPhone. It will also hope the agreement brings added energy to the launch of the next iPhone, which rumours suggest will bring only incremental design improvements," Mann added.
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The launch also represents a change in strategic direction for EE, according to Mann.
"Following hot on the heels of the deal to offer BT Sport, this move confirms an evolution in EE’s strategy beyond simply network leadership.
"Coverage and speed has so far dominated EE’s marketing, but this advantage will eventually narrow. It has moved swiftly to capitalise on the increasingly relevant content market, which should be applauded," he said.