Spotify Free Users Can Now Download Tracks & Use The App - For A Price
by Joe White
May 4, 2011
Spotify has recently made some changes to its online music streaming service. Now, "Spotify Free" users can download MP3 tracks, and access the Spotify app on their iPhone or iPod touch - something previously reserved for premium subscribers.
As outlined in a press release (which hit the Web today), Spotify Free users are getting some handy features previously reserved for premium subscribers. First, users of the service can now download MP3 tracks to their computer's hard drive (and listen to the tracks offline). However, this comes at a price - as much as €1.00/80p per track, or as little as €0.60/50p per track.
As outlined by Engadget, the price of MP3 downloads are:
Second, Spotify Free users can now enjoy listening to these tracks via the Spotify Mobile iOS app (which can be downloaded for free, for the iPhone and iPod touch). Again, the Spotify app could previously only be accessed by premium subscribers. Other changes made include support for non-iOS iPod devices (such as the iPod classic), which can be synced with the service via USB. All of these changes will be added in an automatic update, which will be "rolled out from today." As outlined by Daniel Ek, CEO & Founder of Spotify:
- 10 tracks for €9.99 or €1.00 per track (£7.99 or just under 80p per track)
- 15 tracks for €12.99 or €0.87 per track (£9.99 / 67p)
- 40 tracks for €30.00 or €0.75 per track (£25 / 63p)
- 100 tracks for €60.00 or €0.60 per track (£50 / 50p)
From today, Spotify really is the only music player you'll ever need. Our users don't want to have to switch between music players, but they do want to take their playlists with them wherever they go, on a wider range of devices, more simply and at a price they can afford. Now we've made that possible on one of the world's most popular consumer devices.Personally, I absolutely love Spotify: It's a great service, and easily could be "the only music player" I use, especially since I only have a 16GB iPhone 4 handset (and a lot of apps to sync). Indeed, the only foreseeable threat Spotify could encounter, might be the launch of Apple's rumored cloud based music service. Unfortunately, Spotify isn't available worldwide. Currently, only a handful of European countries - the U.K., France, Spain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands - can access Spotify. If you live in one of these countries, check out the service if you haven't already. And if you have, be sure to let us know your thoughts on Spotify in the comments below.