Maxis pulls the plug on free Spotify for MaxisONE Plan

If you’re a MaxisONE Plan subscriber and currently enjoying Spotify Music, we have some bad news for you. Maxis is stopping its free Spotify Premium subscription and existing subscribers will be charged the full amount during the next renewal effective 23 October 2016.

In case you didn’t know, Maxis was offering all MaxisONE Plan subscribers (RM98 and above) free Spotify Premium subscription plus 15GB of music streaming data. For others subscribers, you can get a discounted subscription fee of only RM9.99/month instead of the usual RM14.90/month.

At time of writing, there’s no notice on Maxis Spotify promo page but Maxis had sent the SMS above informing of the new change. You can continue with the subscription but Maxis will charge RM14.90 to your bill. On top of that, they are also reducing the music streaming quota from 15GB to 3GB/month.

UPDATE: Maxis has updated their FAQ with a new section called “End of Promotion”. The 3GB music streaming quota will be given to eligible MaxisONE customers regardless whether you subscribe to Spotify via Maxis or directly. The 3GB quota is only for principal lines and is not applicable for supplementary accounts.

This sudden change comes as a surprise as Spotify is the biggest content differentiator for Maxis. Other telcos are also beefing up their content services by offering free video/music streaming with extended trials for selected subscription. Even U Mobile offers unlimited video streaming that covers almost all the major platforms.

If you’re thinking of continuing with your Spotify subscription, you probably might want to consider the Spotify Family Plan that costs RM22.40/month and it can be used for up to 6 individuals.