Spotify now offering students a 50% discount on subscriptions

Streaming music service Spotify is offering students the option of signing up for a monthly subscription for just $5, the company announced today.

The move simply opens up the company’s current “Spotify Premium” service to students at a lower rate, similar to what Amazon did some time ago in extending its Prime Membership offering to students. Both services presumably hope to lure in new, loyal subscribers before they have a larger expendable income.

Spotify’s student fee is half the price of what regular subscribers pay. Only students enrolled in a U.S. college are eligible for the discounted rate.

Unlike the company’s free ad-supported version, “Spotify Premium” subscriptions offer better sound quality, on-demand access to a library of over 20 million songs, and no advertising.

I’d imagine the move won’t really affect competitor Pandora, which already offers a premium ad-free service for $5. However, Spotify’s student discount will probably steal users away from its true rivals like Rdio and Beats Music.