Verizon to bundle Apple Music with top-tier unlimited plans starting Jan. 17

Verizon on Tuesday announced a new promotion that will bundle Apple Music subscriptions to customers of its two most expensive monthly plans, expanding on an existing partnership with Apple that provided six free months of the streaming service to select users.

Starting Jan. 17, Verizon customers subscribed to the Beyond Unlimited or Above Unlimited plans will gain access to Apple Music as part of an incentives initiative. The promotion represents a $9.99 value for end users, and for Apple presents an opportunity to significantly boost marketshare in the highly competitive streaming industry.

In addition to Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited subscribers, those with Go Unlimited plans can take advantage of an existing Apple Music trial offer that includes six months of service at no additional cost.

Verizon in its press release notes customers are responsible for tax fees on the $9.99 Apple Music subscription, though that extra cost is apparently built in as advertised unlimited plan pricing remain unchanged.

America's largest cellular carrier by subscribers first partnered with Apple in 2018 to give six months of free Apple Music to subscribers of each of its three unlimited plans. Angie Klein, VP of marketing at Verizon, in a statement on Tuesday suggested today's Apple Music promotion has been in the works for some time.

"When we introduced six months free of Apple Music to Verizon Unlimited subscribers, we said it was just the beginning of a great collaboration between Verizon and Apple to bring music streaming to our loyal customers," Klein said. "Our customers loved the offer, so we're ramping up the value of our Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans by including Apple Music so you can stream more of the music you love on the network you deserve."