Quick tip: You can now:
That's the TL;DR, but if you want to read more, here you go.
I forgot that an Xbox Game Pass is one of the perks you can choose now. Wish I had time for some gaming like that.
So if you want to keep your Naver-partnered Netflix account but want to add on Spotify too, this deal would save you 20k won/year. Not bad.
- Get a "Premium Basic" account for Spotify for free if you (or your Korean spouse) is a Naver Plus member,
-or- - You can keep your current freebie item (probably Netflix) and add the premium Spotify account as a side order for cheaper than the account on its own.
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| Spotify Naver Plus partnership |
Naver Plus digital contents
If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me briefly explain: Naver has a monthly membership program called Naver Plus. Maybe your wife pays for it if she does a lot of Naver Shopping since it gives some big discounts on shipping costs and accumulates points faster. Some other stuff too like baby item discounts.
You might not care about that part, but a Naver Plus membership also comes with one "Digital Contents" freebie each month. You get to choose what free service you want. From the point of view of a foreigner, the best options are Netflix and, now, Spotify. So if your K-spouse is paying for Naver Plus and you haven't realized it yet, you can be getting free access to Netflix or Spotify. Don't sleep on this offer. You'd be silly to ignore it, especially as it's even cheaper as I noted before:
TIL a basic ad-supported Netflix plan in Korea is ₩5500/month. A Naver Plus annual membership, which includes that Netflix plan, comes out to ₩3900/month. You can save at least ₩19,200/year by doing the Naver Plus bundle plus the other N+ savings perks.
Spotify Premium Basic account
Anyway, if you'd rather have free access to Spotify rather than Netflix, you can choose that in your Naver Plus Digital Contents settings page. This type of account, the Premium Basic, gives you:
- Spotify library with millions of songs
- No ads
- Playlist reorders and skips
- Listen in with friends
- K-Pop Listening Party
No ability to download songs for offline listening though.
Here's a direct link where you can choose your perk, assuming you're logged into Naver and a Naver Plus member: https://nid.naver.com/membership/my?m=viewBenefit
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| Current list of Digital Contents perks from Naver Plus membership |
Pair it with Netflix by buying Spotify a la carte
Now the real point of this post. Apparently they are anticipating that many users like having free access to what would be a paid Netflix plan and don't want to have to choose between it and Spotify. They want both. Well, Naver has a solution for you:
다른 콘텐츠를 이용하고 있어요. 스포티파이 프리미엄 베이직을 중복으로 이용할 방법은 없나요?
무료 디지털 콘텐츠에 더불어 추가 디지털 콘텐츠를 구매하여 이용할 수 있습니다. 추가 상품으로 제공되는 콘텐츠는 2가지이며, 기본 콘텐츠 혜택과 동일한 혜택이 제공됩니다.
스포티파이 프리미엄 베이직 : 월 5,900원 (*관련 약관 적용)
웹툰・시리즈 쿠키 59개 : 월 4,900원
추가 콘텐츠는 패밀리 대표에게만 주어지는 혜택으로, 디지털 콘텐츠 이용 권한이 멤버에게 있는 경우,
멤버가 기본 콘텐츠 혜택을 선택한 후에 구매할 수 있습니다.
https://mkt.naver.com/spotify
So, if you want to keep Netflix as your provided Naver Plus Digital Contents perk, you can order a side menu of Spotify premium basic for 5,900 won/month.
That will save you a few wons from signing up on your own outside of this promotion. On the main Spotify page, they list a Premium Basic account as currently priced at 7,900 won/month.
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| Premium Basic plan straight from Spotify. Image: Spotify |
So if you want to keep your Naver-partnered Netflix account but want to add on Spotify too, this deal would save you 20k won/year. Not bad.
Goodbye Vibe?
Of course this promotion heavily implies that Naver will be shuttering its own streaming music service, Naver Vibe. See for example: Naver’s Music App VIBE Loses Ground. Shutdown Rumors Deepen | IT조선
I did a post about Naver Vibe a few years back. It was a decent app but I think it just never really caught on, and with so many domestic music streaming apps all fighting vying for the domestic market, it feels like it left plenty of time for Spotify to move in and become the global K-pop destination in a way that ends up attracting Korean audiences themselves.
Anyway, I think Naver did well to partner with Netflix and now Spotify to help satisfy customers by meeting them where they are instead of trying to push them somewhere they don't really want to be. Happy Spottifying or whatever the verb for this is.
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