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Spotify iPhone app goes live
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 7 September 2009
So, following its approval by Apple chiefs last month, the Spotify iPhone app has gone live on the Apple app store.
The launch of the Spotify app is interesting on two levels. First of all, it’s the first expansive music service available to iPhone users other than Apple’s own proprietary download store. Some speculated that Spotify’s potential to rival iTunes might lead to Apple blocking the app’s official distribution, though we all know that Apple operates iTunes primarily to lock us all to their music devices, whether that be iPod or iPhone, so providing Spotify don’t launch rival hardware they are obvious partners for the IT giant. Or, at least, Apple won’t want Spotify entering into any exclusivity deal with rival portable device makers, given the service’s popularity in the net-connected PC domain.
But the Spotify app is probably more interesting because it can only be used by premium subscribers to the streaming music service. This makes things like the app key to Spotify’s near future. We all know the vast majority of Spotify’s users are currently using the free ad-funded service, despite those National Express ads really testing said users’ patience. Meanwhile, the frequency of those National Express ads tell us Spotify does not yet have an extensive range of advertisers, which isn’t surprising, given the ad-funded platform launched during one of the worse advertising recessions.
It’s probably safe to assume that Spotify’s business model long term really relies on many more users going the ten-pounds-a-month subscription route. But the free service offers so much music, and so much flexibility, it’s hard to see why people would upgrade, despite occasional content exclusives for premium users, and the tedious-ness of the aforementioned National Express ads. But making Spotify portable for paying users is possibly one way to persuade freebie users to upgrade.
Possibly. All of which will make the number of Spotify app sign ups very interesting to watch. A similar app for phones that use the Android operating system has also gone live today. So, good news for the two people who have Android phones.
