Spotify promotion offers users 3 month premium subscription for just $0.99/month

With the rumor mill suggesting that Apple will bundle the Beats Music app into iOS early next year, the battle for music streaming supremacy will soon kick into high gear. As it stands now, there's no denying that Spotify, with 50 million active users and 12.5 million paying subscribers, has a significant leg up on Beats. But in a world where Apple can conveniently place a Beats icon on the prime piece of real estate that is the iOS homescreen, the power structure could change rather quickly.

So in what may very well be a move to stave off an onslaught from Beats and get as many new users into the Spotify mix as quickly as possible, Spotify recently announced an unprecedented promotional deal. Up until December 31, customers who sign up for Spotify Premium — a service which provides unlimited and ad-free on-demand music streaming — can enjoy the service for just $0.99 for a period of three, count em' three!, months. It really doesn't get any better than that. Typically, the premium service runs at $9.99. Even at that price, most music lovers will attest that Spotify Premium is a steal. At $0.99, the deal is out of this world.

Once Apple finally gets around to incorporating Beats into iOS, it'll be interesting to see how they decide to plays things. Not too long ago, a report surfaced claiming that Apple may try to undercut Spotify by offering a monthly Beats subscription for just $5/month. It'll also be particularly interesting to see if Apple bundles Beats within iTunes or if it will be given its own icon on the iOS homescreen. Hopefully Apple will learn from the lackluster rollout of iTunes Radio and opt for the latter.