(photo: Now That’s What I Call Music!)
The UK-based Now That’s What I Call Music! has released a free, ad-supported tier on its music-streaming service, the Now Music App.
Company officials announced the free tier’s debut this morning. As is also the case with Spotify’s free edition, Now Music’s non-subscription version enables listeners to enjoy shuffle play, but not playlists or personally selected songs. Ads will occasionally play between tracks, in the app’s free variation, which Now That’s What I Call Music! has already released.
Now Music’s paid version, for its part, costs $6.20 (£4.99), but allows users to listen offline, enjoy individual songs and playlists, avoid ads, and more. For reference, Spotify Premium costs $12.42 (£9.99) in the United Kingdom, as does Apple Music.
At this point, it’s unclear if Now is encroaching on the turf of heavyweights like Spotify and Apple Music. But the hits-heavy streaming approach is certainly worth watching.
Addressing the launch of Now Music Free, Senior Digital Director Alex McCloy said, in part: “Now Music has a familiarity for millions of people and has been a trusted music brand since the 1980s; from vinyl to CDs and now streaming, we are continually developing Now Music and our latest Free tier captures the fun of the Now brand in an easy to use format.”
Now Music is available for download on both iOS and Android devices. Interestingly, the Universal Music and Sony Music-backed streaming platform has experienced a significant jump “in-app downloads and streams,” according to the company.
Data indicates that widespread self-quarantining has brought an overall drop in music streaming and an overall uptick in video streaming. At the same time, studies suggest that consumers will promptly cancel streaming-service subscriptions if financially pressured to do so. Nevertheless, market-research company Counterpoint anticipates a sizable increase in the total number of music streamers this year.
Minutes ago, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced that the United Kingdom’s lockdown measures would remain in place for at least three weeks longer than initially expected, until May 7th. Medical professionals have diagnosed more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases in the UK, including nearly 5,000 overnight cases.