Study Shows That $9.99 Is ‘Way Too Expensive’ for Streaming Music

The major players in the music streaming business such as Rhapsody, Spotify and Apple Music charge a $9.99 monthly subscription fee for their services under their basic plans. Keep in mind that their basic plans does cover unlimited streaming of music.

A new consumer report conducted by Nielson Music (U.S. based study) shows that the $9.99 monthly fee is too much and they will unlikely dish out any money on a streaming service in 2016.

There were a series of questions asked to the participants about streaming services and the number one reason that would prevent them opting into a subscription model was the cost of it.

Take a look at the results of the survey below.

Question #1:

In the next six months, how likely are you to pay money for a music streaming music service?

Question #2:

If you are not likely to pay for a music streaming service, what is the reason?

Question #3:

If you were to subscribe to a streaming music service, what would be the most important factors for you?

Source: Nielsen Music, US-based study.

At least one company is paying attention: Spotify.  The company has a ‘list price’ of $9.99 a month, but has been offering aggressive discounts to students and trial users.  Elsewhere, streaming services like Deezer and Rhapsody have been increasingly bundling their services into mobile data plans, a move that slips the broader costs into a bigger bill. 

Both strategies have boosted paying subscribers, though price-chopping has raised serious questions about long-term profitability.

Original Article from Paul Resnikoff posted on DigitalMusicNews.com Thursday, January 7, 2016.