The music industry has been very focused on streaming subscriptions rising in price in recent years, and those demands have been met by the streaming services in growing numbers.
But it’s easy to forget there was a time not so long ago when there was also talk about subscriptions needing to be cheaper: for lower-tier, entry-level options to entice people to start paying for music again.
It wasn’t just talk. Amazon had its single-Echo $3.99-a-month Amazon Music tier, and in 2021 Apple Music launched a $4.99-a-month ‘Voice Plan’. The restriction in that case being that people could only use it via the company’s Siri voice assistant.
How did that go? Well, it’s going away now. “Beginning in November, Apple will discontinue the Apple Music Voice plan,” confirmed Apple in a page on its support site. Brazilian Apple-focused news site MacMagazine appears to have been one of the first to spot the change.
“We are focused on delivering the best, most robust music experience possible for our customers, with features like immersive Spatial Audio, Apple Music Sing with real-time lyrics, intuitive browse and discovery features, and so much more,” added Apple. “All Apple Music plans already work seamlessly with Siri, and we will continue to optimize this experience.”
Current subscribers to the plan can continue listening until the end of their final billing cycle, or switch to another subscription: individual, student, family or the Apple One super-bundle.
Apple has, unsurprisingly, not outlined any reasons for shutting down its Voice Plan tier, and there is no public data indicating how popular it was with listeners.
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