In an effort to competitively price its new music streaming service in some of the world's emerging markets, Apple is charging as little as $2 a month for an individual Apple Music account in select countries – 80% cheaper than the US.
In the U.S., an individual Apple Music account costs $10 a month and $15 for a family account. In poorer countries, the pricing is much lower. In India, where local streaming services charge as little as $0.60 a month, Apple Music is priced at $2 for individual and $3 for family plans. In Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand, it's $5 and $7; in Hong Kong, $6 and $10; and in Singapore, $7.50 and $11.
Apple likely hopes the low price plans will help sell more of its iPhones in these countries, where they make up a minority of the smartphone market. While these areas may boast cheaper Apple Music subscriptions than the U.S., Apple's hardware is not as competitively priced; an iPhone 6 in Asia can cost well over $600.
Even though Apple is late to the party when it comes to streaming music services, the company's massive reach combined with Apple Music's international availability and pricing will go a long way helping it capture a larger global subscription base than the likes of Spotify, Rdio, and Deezer.
For those wishing to experience Apple Music on a mobile device other than an iPhone, there will be an Apple Music Andriod app released this fall.