Sprint Gets Funky in Music Deals With Spotify and Harman Kardon

For Sprint, music took center stage today. The carrier announced a partnership with Spotify to offer cheaper premium music subscriptions to customers on the carrier's shared "Framily" plans. It also unveiled a new phone, the HTC One M8 Harman Kardon Edition, optimized for music playback.

"Because of [past] limitations, mobile music was compressed," Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said at an event in New York City. "Video has taken advantage of... developments. We think it's high time music does, too."

Sprint Framily customers will be able to sample Spotify's premium service — which enables playback on smartphones and tablets — for a six-month trial (instead of the usual 30 days). After that, the cost depends on the number of subscribers: $7.99 per month per user if you have 1-5 people on the plan, or $4.99 for 6-10. Those promotional rates last for 18 months after the six-month free trial. Read more...