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Score one for Apple Music. Starting Friday, passengers on American Airlines domestic flights equipped with Viasat satellite Wi-Fi will be able to listen to their Apple Music subscriptions without having to purchase Wi-Fi.
This is the first time Apple Music has partnered with an airline and seems to be part of Apple’s overall media strategy of getting Apple products in front of a wider range of consumers. Subscribers will be able to stream Apple Music from whatever device they already listen on, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, and PCs. If you aren’t already a subscriber, you can sign up for a three-month free trial while onboard.
“For most travelers, having music to listen to on the plane is just as important as anything they pack in their suitcases,” said Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music in a press release. “With the addition of Apple Music on American flights, we are excited that customers can now enjoy their music in even more places.”
This type of partnership wouldn’t be possible if Net Neutrality had survived the machinations of Ajit Pai. With preferential treatment to only one service, this undermines the free market competition that the U.S. thrives on. Still, there’s nothing stopping Spotify or other streaming services from creating their own partnerships.
With Apple heavily counting on services to make up the revenue shortfall from sluggish iPhone sales, expect to see more partnerships like this in the near future. With iTunes coming to Samsung’s TVs and Apple Music already on Amazon Echo devices, what’s the next play? Is there a device Apple Books could be added to?
The shift from needing an Apple device to use Apple services to bring those services to where users already are is an interesting one and one I look forward to seeing the next step of.
What do you think? Is this a partnership you see yourself utilizing? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
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