SPOTIFY ON THE PHONE BILL

Spotify has closed a bundling pact with Sprint, following widespread rumors that the streaming service would find a mobile carrier and be integrated into a lucrative data plan (in this case Sprint’s "Framily" or "friends and family" plan).

Sprint’s 30 million customers will be eligible for a free trial of Spotify’s premium service, with no ads and high-quality audio, with "Framily" groups enjoying a six-month trial period. Groups bigger than five members will also get 50% off the $10 monthly fee for 18 months, while smaller groups will get 20% off for the same period. Non-Framily subscribers will enjoy a three-month trial.

Last year the streamery's paying customers numbered around 6 million. Spotify’s Daniel Ekrecently noted to The New York Times that his service was popular on the coasts of the U.S. but not Middle America; he may now have found his way into the heartland.

The value of being able to attach streaming fees to a monthly phone bill can hardly be overemphasized—Beats Music did a similar family-plan deal with AT&T at the top of the year.