Apple Music adds student membership subscription at 50% discount, $4.99 per month

Apple is today introducing an Apple Music plan aimed at students. The service is identical in features to the standard plan but rather than paying $9.99 per month, qualifying students can subscribe to Apple Music for $4.99 per month. The offering is rolling out today in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and more countries (via TechCrunch). Prices vary per region but the discount should be around 50% of the normal Apple Music price.

To qualify, students must be currently attending an eligible university or college and gain the discount for up to four years. Apple has partnered with UNiDAYs to verify people who sign up to the student plan are legitimate students attending a school.

Existing Apple Music subscribers can migrate to the cheaper student tier if they qualify. Check Apple Music settings to change tiers. The addition of the student tier brings Apple Music in lockstep with Spotify which offers a similar discounted plan for customers in education (again representing a 50% discount from their normal Spotify Premium plan).

Apple announced it has reached 13 million paying Apple Music subscribers as of last week. No doubt a new student plan will entice further sign ups. Apple Music is expected to receive a significant design overhaul with iOS 10 with a new black and white theme, larger artwork and more. 9to5Mac has also reported that the company will partner with labels to add automatic lyrics support to most songs.

The company continues to offer a three month service trial, so new users to the service can try out Apple Music for free without a monetary commitment. Subscribe to Apple Music for $9.99 per month … or $4.99 per month with the student discount, which is rolling out today. The company also offers a generous Family Plan, allowing up to six people to use Apple Music for $14.99 per month.