Apple appears to be working on new subscription tiers for Apple Music – potentially including a lower-cost option with restricted features.
That’s according to two lines of code spotted in the beta version of the Apple Music app for Android by tech analyst Aaron Perris, a contributor to MacRumors.
The discovery, first reported by 9to5Mac on Friday (May 29), includes references to “Premium access required” and an error message reading “Can’t skip any more tracks” – language that implies a tiered access structure with feature limitations for non-premium users.
Perris shared the findings in a post on X, noting that the code references could also relate to something other than a new subscription tier – such as radio stations.
“It’s possible this could be for something unrelated like radio stations,” Perris noted.
Skip limits on free or lower-priced tiers are a familiar feature of Apple Music‘s competitors.
Spotify‘s ad-supported free tier historically restricted mobile users to shuffle-only playback and capped the number of track skips per hour. The platform scrapped its shuffle-only restriction for free users in September 2025, allowing free users to pick and play specific tracks on demand for the first time, though the skip cap and ads remain.
Apple Music has never offered a free ad-supported tier – and its leadership has been vocal about why.
In an appearance on Billboard‘s On the Record podcast in April, Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser was asked what he didn’t like about the music industry.
“I’m sure you’ve heard me say this: I think ‘free’ was a terrible idea,” Schusser said.
“Apple Music is the only service that doesn’t have a free tier, and believe it or not, we are really proud of that.
“First of all, we really look at music like art… We think when an artist spends nine months in a studio to make a piece of [incredible] work, no one in the world should think it’s okay to give that away for free.”
Schusser also compared the music streaming model to film and television, arguing that platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ built large subscriber bases without offering free tiers, and that music streaming services’ reliance on ad-supported access has depressed what listeners are willing to pay.
That position places Apple at odds with the direction taken by its largest streaming rival.
Spotify has long used its free tier as a funnel to convert listeners into paying subscribers – and has continued to expand the on-demand features available to ad-supported users, even as it raises the price of its Premium subscription.
The discovery of tiered-access code comes as Apple Music faces a well-documented subscriber growth challenge relative to Spotify.
Apple‘s share of US digital music subscribers dropped to 25% at the end of 2024, down from 30% in 2020, according to MIDiA Research data cited by The Wall Street Journal. Globally, its subscriber share shrank to 12% from 16% over the same period.
Apple has responded with a series of moves to attract and retain subscribers. In February 2025, the company launched a promotional subscription rate of $2.99 for six months, less than 50 cents per month, timed to coincide with the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.
More recently, in March 2026, Apple Music struck partnerships with Bandsintown and Ticketmaster to surface concert listings and ticket links directly within the app.
And in August 2025, the platform expanded its radio stations beyond its own ecosystem for the first time through a partnership with TuneIn, giving 75 million additional monthly users access to Apple Music‘s commercial-free programming.
An Apple Music individual subscription is currently priced at $10.99 per month in the US, a figure that has not changed since 2022. Other tiers include a Family Plan at $16.99 per month (for up to six members), a Student Plan at $5.99 per month, and the Apple One bundle starting at $19.95 per month.
Whether Apple‘s next move involves a restricted free tier, a lower-priced paid option, or something else entirely remains unclear.
The timing is notable: Apple‘s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off on June 8, where the company is expected to unveil updates across its software platforms.
Apple has not commented on the reported code discovery or any plans for new Apple Music subscription tiers.Music Business Worldwide
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicbusinessworldwide.com ’
