Spotify is to extend its “free” ad-supported music service to mobile devices, in a move that will rival the lies of iTunes radio in the mobile streaming sector. The move will let smartphone users build playlists of songs and then hear them played back in a random order. Tablet users will have more control, letting […]
Spotify is to extend its “free” ad-supported music service to mobile devices, in a move that will rival the lies of iTunes radio in the mobile streaming sector.
The move will let smartphone users build playlists of songs and then hear them played back in a random order. Tablet users will have more control, letting them select specific tracks.
The Swedish firm also announced it was expanding to a further 20 countries, taking its total reach to 55.
Until now Spotify has offered a free-to-use product only on PCs, and had restricted its mobile apps to paying subscribers.
But its founder, Daniel Ek, said bringing a free service to Android and iOS devices would tempt more people to eventually switch to the premium version where they could access higher-quality audio, no adverts and the ability to listen to songs offline.
“Our very clear mission is getting more people to access and discover more great music,” he told a press conference in New York. “Along with more free users there will be more subscribers, and that means more revenue back to the industry.”
The firm is dropping the 10-hours-a-month cap it previously placed on long-term users of its free services.
Over the past year Google has rolled out its own subscription Play Music service in several countries, Apple has launched iTunes Radio in the US and Bloom.fm has begun offering subscription packages at cheaper rates than Spotify in the UK.
In addition Rdio has expanded its music-streaming service to 51 countries, while France’s Deezer has announced its intention to begin offering tracks in the US next year.
Ek suggested Spotify would gain an advantage over its rivals by offering a product that was free to use and gave device owners control over exactly which songs they listened to.
