Spotify Web Player Beta Confirmed

Spotify has heard the masses, and when contacted, they have confirmed that they will be rolling out a beta version of a Spotify web player to a small number of users. When one looks as a Web player version of Spotify, there is plenty of potential underneath the hood, considering how it would be able to let you enjoy music during moments when you are unable to play music via the desktop app, such as when you are at work or at a friend’s pad. It seems that the Web player will function very close in nature to that of Mac and Windows clients, although it will come with a “basic feature set.” In plain English, this translates to search, Spotify Radio, playlist editing and a What’s New section being made available, among them including audio ads and banner ads.

It seems to us that the Spotify Web player beta is on course for an early launch next year, and when that happens, it would place the company in a strategic position to be able to meet the likes of its rivals Rdio and Grooveshark, enabling users to access their tracks and playlists whenever they do not want to make use of the company’s current smartphone and tablet apps. No idea on how the beta access will work out at the moment, but we do hope to wrap our fingers around additional details in due time.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Billboard charts now count the ways people actually listen to music, Spotify for Android updated with NFC sharing capabilities,

Spotify confirms beta web app, rolling out to select few

If you’ve been a Spotify user ever since its inception, then you probably know how frustrating it was that there wasn’t a web app available, which would essentially allow you to listen your music library on any computer with an internet connection. However, the company has confirmed that they’re rolling out a beta version of the Spotify web app starting today.

While this is certainly good news to Spotify loyalists, the music streaming service emphasized that the beta will only be available for a select number of users, but they didn’t say how many or what the criteria was for selecting the group of beta testers. The company was pretty vague in their confirmation, saying only “a small number of users” will be testing out the web app.

The confirmation of a Spotify web player shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. We heard whisperings about a possible browser-based music player back in September, and it was only a matter of time before the company released one anyway, considering that one of its main competitors, Rdio, has a browser-based music player of its own.

Spotify says that we’ll hear more info about their web app later “next year,” which sounds like a ways off, but next year is actually only a couple months away. Hopefully Spotify will hit us with an official launch of a web music player first thing in January. Until then, we’ll have to rely on our desktop apps for now.

[via The Next Web]


Spotify confirms beta web app, rolling out to select few is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Spotify Is Testing a Web Player That We’ll Probably See Next Year

If you’ve been looking for a way to stream Spotify tracks without having to use the standalone app, that day may come sooner than later: Spotify has confirmed with us that they have begun testing the feature with a small audience. More »

Here’s a Spotify Playlist to Help You Ride Out Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is headed for the east coast. New York City is shutting down. We’re all battening down the hatches, stocking up on nonperishables (I bought Spaghettios), and hoping for the best. And we’ve made a Spotify playlist to keep the cabin fever at bay. More »

This Is Our Apple Liveblog Playlist

You want to get pumped up on certain occasions—before a big game, when you’re preparing for a fight, and of course, when you’re liveblogging. Seriously. We get in the zone just like everyone else. That’s why we made a Spotify playlist specifically for today’s Apple event. Subscribe and enjoy! More »

Xbox Music vs Spotify vs iTunes Match vs Google Music

If you’re thinking about working with Xbox Music in the very near future, the first thing you should be thinking about is how it measures up to the competition. With Microsoft’s first iteration of Xbox Music here right before Windows 8 is released, you’ll need Windows 8, an Xbox 360, or a Windows Phone 8 device to use it. Spotify is a service that works on all of these platforms as well as Apple’s devices and Google’s Android, too. The third warrior in iTunes Match works on Apple products and connects directly with iTunes.

With Xbox Music you’ll be working with a massive library of music with labels that’ve agreed with Microsoft to let their audio be streamed. This service works as both a free model and a pay model, with the free model working in an unlimited manner across all your devices with advertisements to pay your way for 6 months. Once your 6 months are up, you’ll be limited to 10 hours a month. These limits are removed entirely if you choose to pay Microsoft $9.99 a month.

Spotify works similarly with a $9.99 a month cost and a free model besides. The free model also works with advertisements to pay your way, but does not work on your mobile device, only your desktop machine. If you pay the $9.99 a month, you get streaming via mobile and no advertisements anywhere – Spotify also has a separate library of music from Microsoft, and Microsoft and Spotify have separate libraries from iTunes as well – lots of licensing going on here.

Apple’s iTunes Match works with your music and costs $24.99 a year. There is no free service with iTunes Match, and it combines the music you’ve purchased via iTunes with 25,000 songs of your choice uploaded by you from your CD collection. These tracks are added to your library at “256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality” unless Apple does not have their own copy beforehand, at which point you’ll have the song at the highest quality you were able to upload it at. This music can be streamed from any of your web-connected Apple devices.

Of course there’s also Google Music which works on Android devices and through any web browser, this being an absolutely free service that allows you to upload your own music as well as purchase music from Google Play. There’s no limit to streaming on any device and no cost to you – advertisements appear on Google Play, of course, but only for Google Play products.

Which one are you going to go for this upcoming Windows 8-heavy season?


Xbox Music vs Spotify vs iTunes Match vs Google Music is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Xbox Music Hands On: The Perfect Music Service—If You Use Nothing But Microsoft Stuff [Video]

We’ve known that Microsoft has been working on a music service for a while now, and we finally got a chance to check it out first hand. Xbox Music is exactly what you’d want in a streaming service and store. It’s complete in a way that Spotify, Amazon, and even iTunes aren’t. Microsoft’s new music platform is wonderful, basically. More »

Billboard charts now count the ways people actually listen to music

Billboard has been the way the music industry tracks what’s popular since 1936. The Billboard Hot 100 is generally considered the gold standard for what’s the most popular song in the United States, but there are also charts for subgenres: country, rap, rock, etc. The Hot 100 chart has been tracking digital downloads and streaming stats, but that 21st century attitude didn’t apply to genre charts.

Today, Billboard applied digital data to five genre charts: country, rap, rock, Latin and R&B. Before, those charts were basically 100% based on radio, which isn’t the primary way that young people consume music anymore. After adding Nielsen data from  Spotify, Rhapsody, Xbox Music and Rdio, the charts should be much more accurate. But not everybody is happy. Some are worried about crossover artists stealing spots from true genre artists. Others are just upset that Taylor Swift seems to be the most direct beneficiary. Regardless of whether Rihanna actually deserves the #1 spot on the R&B chart, this is a huge improvement for Billboard because any music chart that doesn’t include digital sales and streaming in 2012 is obsolete.

Billboard explains their changes here.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Spotify for Android updated with NFC sharing capabilities, Spotify makes its way onto the Amazon Kindle Fire,

Spotify coming to Samsung Smart TVs in Europe

Spotify is a great service, but do you ever wish you could use it to stream music through your smart TV? Soon you’ll be able to, thanks to a new team up between Samsung and Spotify that will see an app developed specifically for Samsung’s 2012 E-Series smart TVs. Before you US Spotify lovers get too excited, however, we should let you know that this app will only be available in Europe.


Don’t own a Samsung smart TV? You won’t be left out in the cold, as the joint announcement says that Spotify will be coming to Samsung’s Blu-Ray players and home theater systems as well. All you need to do is downloaded the Spotify app on you smart TV or Blu-Ray player, log on, and you’ll have access to Spotify’s library of 18 million songs. That is, provided you’re a Spotify premium subscriber.

Yes, it sounds like this app will only be available to those who have a Spotify premium subscription, but if you’ve yet to shell out the cash for a premium membership, you’ll have the opportunity to test it out with a free trial. There’s no word on how long this trial period will last, but we’re willing to assume that it will last just long enough for you to integrate Spotify into your day-to-day life before it cuts you off. That isn’t to say that signing up for Spotify premium is a bad idea, as premium members will have their playlists synced across their devices and get to enjoy ad-free listening.

Hopefully this is the first of many partnerships that see Spotify launching on a variety of devices. There’s no word on a solid release date for this app, which comes complete with an interface designed for large screens, but Samsung and Spotify say that it will arrive later this year. Considering there are only two months left in 2012, that means European users should be getting the app relatively soon. Stay tuned.


Spotify coming to Samsung Smart TVs in Europe is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Samsung partners with Spotify, brings streaming music to its 2012 Smart TVs in Europe

Samsung partners with Spotify, brings streaming music to its 2012 SmartTVs

Europeans who have been pining for a(nother) way to bring Spotify into their living rooms can rest easy, now that Samsung is on the case. The pair have teamed up to bring 18 million tracks to Sammy’s 2012 E-Series Smart TVs with a new app designed for the platform. The software will arrive later this year, with existing Premium users finding their playlists already syncing, while those new to the service will be offered a short free trial to coax them into signing up. If you’ve yet to make an investment in one of the displays, the company is also planning to add the functionality onto its Blu-Ray players and Home Theater systems in short order.

Continue reading Samsung partners with Spotify, brings streaming music to its 2012 Smart TVs in Europe

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Samsung partners with Spotify, brings streaming music to its 2012 Smart TVs in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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