Telecom And Spotify Launch Free Music Deal

Telecom And Spotify Launch Exclusive Deal To Give Customers Free Music 

Telecom partners with music giant, offers Spotify Premium free to customers on selected plans

#freethemusic playlist available on Spotify now

Telecom is joining forces with music service Spotify to offer Spotify Premium free and exclusively on selected mobile plans, giving customers access to more than 20 million tracks on desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

From tomorrow (Friday 28 February) all Telecom customers who use the $29 Ultra Mobile prepaid value pack, or who are signed up to the $59 monthly Ultra Mobile plan or higher, will receive a Spotify Premium subscription (RRP $12.99 per month) at no additional cost1. Existing customers on these plans qualify automatically for the subscription.

This news comes days after Telecom’s announcement that it will change its name to Spark later this year. 

Telecom Retail CEO Chris Quin says the partnership with Spotify reflects the transformation of the business from traditional telco to a “customer-inspired provider of digital services, entertainment, mobile and data.”

“Free Spotify Premium is a ‘game-changer’ for mobile, and a great first stake in the ground after the announcement of the name change.  The music offer will be a great bonus for existing customers and we believe it will attract more people to the Telecom mobile network.

“48% of kiwis say they now listen to music using their smartphones. Spotify is the best music service around - it lets you listen to the artists you love and helps you discover more music than ever before. If you’re not getting this already, you’re going to want it.

“This deal gives customers even more reason to take advantage of the 1GB of free mobile data a day they get over the Telecom Wifi network on selected packs and plans, and the faster speeds available with our free upgrade to 4G, so they can listen to their favourite playlists wherever they are.”

To celebrate freeing the music, Kiwi artists Jamie McDell, Clap Clap Riot, and Benny Tipene are releasing new tracks and shooting music videos on the streets of Auckland today, giving fans the chance to hear them live, for free and to feature in the videos. 

Spotify launched in New Zealand in May 2012 and offers Free, Unlimited and Premium subscription tiers.  Only Premium subscribers receive ad-free, on-demand access to Spotify’s enormous catalogue, which they can listen to online, as well as download to play offline, in the highest quality audio.

Last year Spotify’s 24 million users streamed more than 4.5 billion hours (almost 50,000 years) of music.

Spotify’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Kate Vale, said she was “excited to help deliver the world’s music to New Zealanders in a partnership that makes music discovery a whole lot easier and more accessible.” She said Telecom’s technology and reach provides music lovers with an unbeatable deal that’s sure to impress.

Adam Holt, Chairman of Universal Music New Zealand, says Telecom’s partnership with Spotify is a significant milestone in the development and growth of legal music streaming services in New Zealand.  “Strategic partnerships between telco companies and streaming music services have been internationally proven as a magic combination and we are thrilled that Telecom has committed to offering some of their customers unlimited access to music through a great service like Spotify Premium.”

“This is a vitally important partnership for the future of New Zealand’s music industry and a brilliant deal for Telecom’s customers.”

Singer/songwriter, Jamie McDell’s known for her connection with fans.  She says freeing the music on mobile lets artists and fans interact even more and helps new talent get their music out there.

“I hope they’ll love this new song and being part of the music video we’re shooting on the streets of Auckland today.”

Telecom’s existing customers on eligible plans will be notified over the next few days (by email, traditional mail or SMS), prompting them to register online for Spotify Premium at www.telecom.co.nz/getspotify  More information on Telecom’s partnership with Spotify and what it means for customers can be found at www.telecom.co.nz/spotify.

Freeing the music in numbers

·         Over 20 million tracks available on Spotify, the equivalent of around 1.5 million CDs (try carrying those around in your pocket…)

·         5MB is the average data consumed when downloading or streaming a song

·         200 the average number of songs a Telecom customer can stream with free 1GB each day on Telecom WiFi (available on selected packs and plans)

·         700+ Telecom WiFi hotspots available across NZ

·         48% of Kiwis now say they listen to music over their smartphones

Notes to editors

1.       Standard data charges apply.

2.       Telecom’s WiFi network gives mobile customers on selected prepay packs and pay-monthly plans up to 1GB of mobile data a day over more than 700 hotspots nationwide, with the network growing all the time. More information can be found attelecom.co.nz/wifi

3.       Music will be a long-term focus for Telecom in the mobile space, through its #Freethemusic movement to connect fans and artists in new ways and support the local music industry.

4.       To celebrate the partnership with Spotify, Telecom has created a #freethemusic playlist.  The embed code for this is:https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:nztelecom:playlist:3GpdypLE5bU8VeBsIgvWmf

5.       Spotify is an award-winning digital music service that gives you on-demand access to over 20 million tracks. Our dream is to make all the world’s music available instantly to everyone, wherever and whenever they want it. Spotify makes it easier than ever to discover, manage and share music with your friends, while making sure that artists get a fair deal.

Spotify is now available in 55 markets with more than 24 million active users, and over 6 million paying subscribers. Since its launch in Sweden in 2008, Spotify has driven more than a billion US dollars to rights holders. Spotify is already the second biggest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe (IFPI, 2011) and the biggest and most successful music streaming service of its kind globally. www.spotify.com.

ENDS

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