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Telstra starts Apple Music push after quietly ditching its music streaming service Mog

Telstra has started a new campaign offering free subscriptions to Apple Music for its mobile customers after quietly scrapping its own Mog music streaming service earlier this month.

The local version of ad-free music streaming service Mog was launched in 2012 by the telco in a bid to gain a slice of the music streaming dollars. But the service failed to take hold beyond free subs for Telstra customers against the likes of Spotify and Pandora.

Globally Mog was owned by Beats Music, which was bought last year by Apple, which earlier this year launched its own streaming offering Apple Music.

Mog was officially shut down on September 1 in Australia, with users offered free 12 and 24 month subscriptions to Apple Music. It is unclear what Telstra’s relationship with Apple Music is in Australia.

The closure follows rivals Songl and Deezer which both shut down last year amid consolidation in the competitive and crowded marketplace.

Telstra confirmed the closure of Mog’s Australian operation and said it followed the axing of the US service last year.

A Q&A on a Telstra crowd support web page failed to explain the reasons for the closure but said the “good news is there is a new music streaming service with the launch of Apple Music”.

The telco, which stressed it did not own Mog, said users no longer have access to their account or the music library, which includes songs downloaded for offline playback, access to playlists and access to Mog on SONOS systems “as the streaming service is no longer available”.

The new campaign uses a re-recorded version of Billy Idol classic ‘Dancing With Myself’ and shows people dancing by themselves with headphones on in a variety of situations, finishing in an offer for up to two years of free Apple Music.

Telstra has been contacted for more details on the offer and agencies involved, but The Monkeys have been behind a number of the telco’s recent product pushes including its Air rollout last month.

Alex Hayes

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