Samsung and Google both know one of the locations where the future of the music industry lays and here's a hint: It's a place that's produced a lot of music. The phone company and Google has begun offering extended free trials of Google Play in Brazil as of last week according to Billboard.
Buyers of the the Samsung Galaxy S4, S5 and Galaxy Tab will be able to take part in Google Play for free for six months from activation. On November 1 the company will start a three-month free use program for all owners of Samsung smartphones and tablets in the country.
Okay, so why? Twofold, for the sake of both companies of course.
For Google, it's an opportunity to get ahead in a country where it's behind. Spotify and Rdio have already gotten started in the huge South American market so Google aims to draw in more consumers by offering the free trial to all users of Samsung phones. You'd be surprised how many users of free trials of such products continue to pay for subscriptions once the sample is done: Just look at SiriusXM in the United States. The company was rejuvenated when drivers began opting to renew the free subscriptions that came with new vehicles. Samsung of course is just looking to hawk more phones but it's a pretty nifty was of doing so.
Why is this good for the music industry as a whole? Well, it falls right in line with what New Music Seminar head honcho Tom Silverman told us when we spoke to him earlier this year. Streaming is the unavoidable future of music but making it turn a profit for performers involves making sure higher number of listeners actually use them, specifically the billions of citizens in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) which have long had little access to the products of the largest music-producing countries.
