One of the Philippines’ mobile telco, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), has earlier this week announced a strategic and exclusive partnership with global music streaming service Deezer to bring the full breadth of music experience to mobile users in the country through Deezer’s Premium+ service.
According to the press release, with Deezer Premium+, more than 72 million Smart mobile subscribers nationwide will be able to enjoy unlimited web and mobile access to the most number of music tracks online and offline, all in high-quality and without the interruption of ads.
Deezer partnering with telcos for launches
Typically, users can subscribe to Deezer through the Premium+ plan. This plan is available at US$5.99 a month and allows users to access their music offline. It also includes exclusive content such as competitions, pre-release album previews, and unlimited streaming. There will also be no ads popping up on your device or computer screen.
For users who are unable to afford that, there is a free plan which limits your music streaming to two hours per month.
Smart will soon announce affordable streaming rates and promotions with Deezer that both prepaid and postpaid subscribers can enjoy. With this partnership, Smart users will be able to purchase a Deezer Premium+ subscription simply with their prepaid or postpaid accounts.
“We are excited to announce this pioneering partnership with Deezer, which will deliver even more exciting music experiences to our subscribers and enhance their mobile lifestyles on the go,” said Mellissa Limcaoco, Innovation and Product Development Group Head at Smart.
“With SPINNR, we promised the total music experience to users at affordable prices. This partnership broadens our portfolio even further with millions of music tracks from Deezer, the largest digital music catalogue in the world, which users can enjoy whether they are here or abroad,” Limcaoco explained. “This strengthens Smart’s expanding suite of mobile content and application offerings that makes us a formidable player in the entire mobile ecosystem.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Smart, the Philippines’ largest mobile operator, to provide music fans in Philippines easy access to all the music they can consume. This collaboration puts millions of tracks in the hands of millions of mobile users in Philippines whether they are at home or on the go,” added Steven Frank, Business Development Manager for Asia Pacific at Deezer.
Deezer has always been taking the telco partnership approach when growing its reach in countries. Back in December 2013, Deezer partnered with Singapore mobile service provider, M1, to provide its post-paid users unlimited Premium+ access to Deezer’s music library at a special rate of S$5.99 per month. The usual fee for unlimited music streaming on Deezer is at S$9.90.
Other than M1 in Singapore, Deezer has also partnered up with major telcos around the region: In Malaysia, it has tied up with DiGi, and has also partnered with dtac in Thailand to offer exclusive discounts and perks to these telco subscribers. For the partnership with DiGi in Malaysia, customers who sign up with selected postpaid, tablet and broadband plans with DiGi, can enjoy three months of Deezer Premium+ free of charge.
The launch announcement in the Philippines came shortly after we reported that competitor Spotify has entered into a partnership with Coca Cola to launch in the country. Other than competing with Spotify, one of the largest music streaming site in the world, Deezer is also competing head on with some music streaming startups that have different business models, such as Amplify, Ndfy, and Radio Republic.
On mobile devices, the Deezer app can be installed on iOS, Android, Windows Phone as well as Blackberry 10 smartphones and tablets. It can also be enjoyed using traditional desktop browsers in laptops and PCs.
Also read: Finally! Spotify ties up with Coca-Cola to launch in the Philippines
