SAI reports that Spotify plans to expand beyond its on-demand streaming music service into the wild world of streaming video. According to unnamed sources, Spotify wants to take on VOD services with exclusive content, which would put the company in direct competition with companies like Netflix, Amazon, and even, if you’re willing to stretch you imagination, with HBO. More »
Do you listen to Spotify? Do you have a Raspberry Pi? Well, Pi MusicBox might just be the thing for you. It’s a bootable Debian image for RaspBerry Pi that implements Modipy, a music server which enables playback from local storage, Spotify streaming and remote-control from any MPD (Music Player Daemon) client or web browser (see screenshots above). There are MPD apps for most platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows and Mac OS. Pi MusicBox also supports WiFi, USB audio and AirTunes streaming right out of the, err, box. So, if your Raspberry Pi is jonesing to play some tunes, go ahead and hit those links below.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Pi MusicBox
Amazon is reportedly thinking about starting its own subscription music service. Perhaps it wants to jump on the bandwagon all of the other big companies, like Google and Apple, are on. Sources have told The Verge that Amazon is aiming towards creating a service that’s similar to Spotify’s, where users can choose which song or artist they want to listen to, instead of creating a radio streaming service like Pandora’s.
Amazon already has its own MP3 store and Cloud Player, so it has the means to start the service, but considering how saturated the music streaming market currently is, it might not be the wisest choice. Amazon has yet to enter any formal discussions with record labels, so it’s basically feeling its options out. Considering how large the online retailer is, it may be able to set itself apart from the competition, especially if it includes the music subscription service with its Amazon Prime features. Free music streaming could be a major draw for consumers to purchase an Amazon Prime subscription.
YouTube and Google are also reportedly planning their own music-subscription services. Both of the services would have a free version subsidized by ads, and they would both offer an ad-free version at a cost of course. Apple has been in talks of starting its own music streaming service for a while, however due to its low royalty rate propositions, it has been seeing a lot of rejection from record labels.
The outbreak of all of these “upcoming” music subscription services is a bit overwhelming. All of these companies will be tempting to subscribe to, and Spotify will definitely be facing some tough competition. These companies will all have to come up with exclusive features that will interest customers and drive them away from the rest of the competition. Having mobile access to their service would be a huge plus.
[via The Verge]
Amazon reportedly in talks about a subscription music service is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
While subscription based music services haven’t exactly proven to be a gold mine, consumer interest in them is gradually increasing. Many companies are looking to break in to this niche, the latest being Amazon. A new report claims that Amazon has been meeting with some of the biggest record labels and discussing a subscription music service that it is planning on launching. According to the report, the meetings being held are informal as of now and they’re aren’t exactly any more juicy details. Amazon seems interested in an on-demand music streaming service, one that will be similar to Spotify. (more…)
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There’s been a Sword of Damocles looming for months over Spotify’s free tier: after a reprieve, some listeners past the six-month trial phase have been capped at five plays per track. Spotify must not want to kill the joy of a favorite album, as it’s lifting that cap for UK members. Like most of their friends on the platform, Brits now just have to cope with the usual ads and 10-hour monthly cap if they’re not keen on paying for a subscription. With only the French apparently left facing the five-play limit — qu’est-ce que c’est l’obstacle? — it’s clear that Spotify sees value in softening the hard sell for its paid service.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Source: Spotify
Twitter is apparently looking to bring some music into its service. The company is getting ready to use We Are Hunted, a music discovery service it had acquired 6 months ago, to help build itself a standalone music app. The app will give personalized music recommendations to users based on the musical artists the user follows, and the musical artists the user’s followers follow. The service, while less personalized, will still be usable for those without a Twitter account.
The app will stream music via SoundCloud. It will feature 4 tabs. The “Suggested” tab recommends you songs based on the musical artists you follow. The “#NowPlaying” tab lists links to songs tweeted by your followers who tweet using the #NowPlaying hashtag. The “Popular” tab lists the songs that are currently trending on the music app, and the “Emerging” tab lists a bunch of up-and-coming artists featured on We Are Hunted.
The app will display artists and songs in a grid design. Clicking on an artist’s panel will cause it to expand displaying a short bio on the artist, as well as links to songs the artist has on SoundCloud, or on iTunes. Users can tap the play button to begin streaming music from the artist. Users will also be able to follow artists directly from Twitter’s “Twitter Music” page.
iOS users are said to have first dibs on the Twitter Music service, just like Twitter’s video sharing app, Vine. The Twitter Music service is speculated to be released to iOS devices by the end of this month. Twitter hopes that by integrating music into its network, it can attract more new users to its service. It will, however, have a hard time prying users away from popular music services like Pandora and Spotify.
[via CNET]
Twitter to launch standalone music app is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Spotify has been creating compatible versions of its application to pretty much anything with an Internet connection to give current and new customers the ability to listen to their streaming-music service of choice anywhere they go. The company has reached a new milestone today with 24 million active users, with over 6 million paying subscribers.
As impressive as 24 million active users are, only having a quarter of those users be paying subscribers puts a damper on today’s news. We’re sure Spotify would prefer at least half of their users be paying subscribers, but considering how many people simply want a Pandora-like radio experience, it might be difficult for Spotify to lure those consumers into paying for a subscription.
We think Spotify needs to give its paying customers more of an incentive than simply playing whatever song you want at any time. The changes they’re starting to implement to their service may be a step in the right direction as one of the main complaints Spotify users have had is how difficult it is to discover new content.
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For almost ten years, streaming music services have come and gone. Sure, some have lasted longer than others, but so far none has ever made the business model work properly. So can it ever turn into a real, sustainable business? More »
Back in February, Spotify announced a partnership with Ford in which its app will be part of Ford’s Sync AppLink system. Now it looks like Spotify has teamed up with another car manufacturer, Volvo, and they will be bringing a voice-navigated version of their music service to future Volvo models. As you can imagine, driving while fiddling with your radio is probably not the smartest idea, especially when you’re trying to navigate to your favorite song, which is why this voice navigation feature sounds like it could be a good idea for convenience and safety.
For those who would rather not navigate using their voices or who find that the error rate is a little too high for their liking, they will still be able to navigate Spotify via the Sense Connected Touch dashboard system which comes with a 7” display. Users will be able to attach 3G or 4G dongles for streaming, or even tether their phone if they wish. The UI of Spotify is also expected to be similar to the Android version so if you’ve used Spotify before on your Android device, the learning curve shouldn’t be too steep. This new feature will debut in the Volvo V40, V40 Cross Country, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 this coming May, but owners of Volvo vehicles made in 2011 will be able to retrofit it if they choose.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Spotify Coming To Ford Cars In North America, Next-gen In-Car Audio System Concept Revealed By B&O, Audi And Fraunhofer IIS,
Spotify continues to make itself at home in your car. Following its Ford hook-up at MWC last month, its announced a new team-up with Volvo that will bring a voice-navigated version of the music service to the car maker’s new models. It’ll form part of Volvo’s new Sense Connected Touch dashboard system which includes a 7-inch touchscreen for anyone that doesn’t feel like talking at their dash. Users can also stream music with a 3G or 4G dongle or tethered to your smartphone of choice. The Spotify UI itself will be familiar to anyone who’s used the app before and as the system runs on Android, you’ll also be able pick up the likes of Google Maps and other music-playing options available on Google Play. It’ll arrive this May as a dealer-fitted accessory on new Volvo V40, V40 Cross Country, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models, while you’ll also be able to retrofit it to vehicles made since 2011. Spotify and Volvo has an in-car tour for us right after the break.
Filed under: Transportation, Software
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