Ad-Free Listening on Samsung Milk Music to Cost $4 Per Month

For now, Samsung's new Galaxy-focused Milk Music streaming service is ad-free. But sadly, that's about to change.

Samsung on Friday posted an infographic to its blog, revealing that users will soon have to shell out $4 a month for a Premium subscription to listen without ads. Buried near the bottom of the infographic, Samsung mentions two plans — a basic service which is free with ads and a premium tier devoid of marketing. Paying for a premium subscription will also net you "some exclusive features," though Samsung did not reveal what they will be.

If you currently use Milk Music, enjoy it while it's still ad-free because Samsung said the new premium service plan will be launching soon, at which time you'll have to pay up or suffer through commercials. To be fair, Samsung did mention that ad-free experience would only be available for a limited time when it launched the app last month.

Milk Music is available exclusively for Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S5 , Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note 3, and Galaxy Note II. Powered by Slacker, Milk Music boasts a catalog of 13 million songs and more than 200 radio stations covering 17 genres.

The app sports a "dial design" (pictured above), which Samsung says offers a more intuitive and fun way to listen to music. The circular dial is customizable, letting you set up nine of your favorite genre-based stations for easy access. Galaxy owners can head over to Google Play to download Milk Music now.

The model is similar to rival services like Spotify, which interrupts free music listening with ads every now and then, but drops the commercials for premium users who pay $10 per month. The newly released Beats Music (for iPhone and Android), meanwhile, does not offer a free version, requiring users to pay $9.99 per month after a 7-day free listening period.

For more, see PCMag's full review of Samsung Milk Music.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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