Apple expands student membership to 25 new countries including China, India, Russia

Apple has expanded Apple Music student membership program to 25 new countries including Canada, China, India, and Russia. Those who sign up for the membership will be able to avail the company’s music streaming service for about half the standard monthly subscription rate. 

Apple announced Apple Music student membership in May this year, though at the time it was available to students in only seven countries — Australia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

The student membership program is now also available in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

Apple, as always, has partnered with UNiDAYS, a service that focuses on offering big savings to students. Among other things, UNiDays helps companies validate student enrolment and verify if a user is still a student at a university. Some other partners of UNiDays include Spotify, New Look, MissGuided, and Urban Outfitters.

Though student membership program makes Apple Music affordable to students everywhere, things are a little too enticing in India, where an eligible student will be able to avail the service for a monthly charge of about Rs 60 (88 cents). Apple Music was launched in India for Rs 120 ($1.75) a month for an individual user and Rs 180 ($2.62) for a family plan.

The move could help the company drive a lot of new customers to its music streaming service. As of September, Apple Music had 17 million paid subscribers. Apple Music rival, Spotify had 40 million paid subscribers as of September. Spotify also offers discounts to students.