Music exclusively for Android customers

Mobile phone carrier Cricket is making its unlimited music service, Muve Music, an exclusive feature of its higher-end phones.

The change is a bid to encourage users of lower-end, basic cellphones to trade up to smartphones, which require more expensive plans. The company will stop offering the service on basic phones to new customers.

Muve Music allows users to download songs from a catalog of millions. About 600,000 Cricket subscribers now pay an extra $10 a month to get the service.

Starting next month, Muve will be included in all plans for smartphones that use Google's Android operating system. The plan could make it the largest music subscription plan in the nation in a few years if current trends hold steady.

Cricket offers lower-cost, contract-free plans to rival larger carriers.

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