Spotify releases its music on mobile - Le Figaro

His music service to the application may be freely used on smartphones and tablets. But the pieces will be distributed randomly.

Spotify upsets the style of music online. On Wednesday, the Swedish company announced that its music service demand could now be used from a smartphone or tablet touch without having to pay a subscription.

Spotify had never seen positioning its offerings since the launch of its application for iPhone and Android in 2009. Subscribers must subscribe to the premium offering at 9.99 euros per month, the most expensive, to access the mobile version of its service. The package € 4.99 per month only gave access only PC software. Free access was also available to PC, with a limit of ten hours of monthly listening and pieces interspersed with advertising.

Spotify brings two size changes to this formula. He extends his free access to the shelves on the one hand. “The devices we use have changed, and many PCs are replaced by tablets, it made more sense” to limit this offer to computers, said Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, at a press conference in New York. There will be more limiting listening songs.

mobile, for their part, will benefit from a new service discovery, which provide access to the entire catalog on a mobile. One constraint: the pieces will be distributed randomly, and must be in reading lists previously created on a PC or by one of his contacts. These pieces will be interspersed with advertisements.

With this formula, Spotify does double blow. The Swedish company is looking to make mobile its main lever recruitment. Users, attracted by the free version on the mobile will be encouraged to upgrade to the paid version.

Launched five years ago, Spotify has managed to position itself as the number one music streaming. He has over 6 million subscribers worldwide. Its historical competitor Deezer, which has surpassed five million subscribers worldwide. But the Swedish company faces competition increasingly fierce in the field of streaming, which displays the highest rates of growth and sharpens the appetite.

Apple

champion music download, launched this year in the United States a custom radio for iPhone and iPad, iTunes Radio, which you can listen songs according to their tastes. Admission is free, funded by advertising (or advertising without an annual subscription of U.S. $ 24.99). “We do not want to start a radio, but something that our users actually use in their lives,” said Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify.

Spotify must also contend with competition from Google. The Web giant opened this year a music listening service by paying online Google Play Music Unlimited Access. The most serious threat comes from its video site, YouTube, which provides free access to music videos in its application. Video platform Google also prepare a future streaming service Music Unlimited, which should be announced early next year.