At its first-ever U.S. press conference, Spotify unveiled on Wednesday a new app platform that allows third-party developers to use the streaming service’s music library and community. Although the apps are only available in beta versions right now for desktop computers, a company executive told Mashable that Spotify will be “everywhere” in the future, including on mobile devices such as the iPad.
“Spotify will eventually be ubiquitous, especially as more users want music on tablet devices. Music lovers want music everywhere, including when they drive their car,” said Ken Parks, Spotify’s chief content officer and managing director for North America. “Based on how well the desktop apps perform, we are very open to the future. A music store will also come.”
A music store would allow members to purchase songs directly from the service could also arrive. This feature is already available for European Spotify. For now, Spotify is partnering with companies such as Rolling Stone, Last.fm, Songkick and tunewiki to provide apps that will make the site more engaging for users, from allowing them to access song lyrics to purchase concert tickets. Parks confirmed that some users will start to see the apps automatically pop up through Spotify as early as next week.
Overall, Spotify’s business model is following a path similar to Facebook’s, starting first as a website before expanding to mobile and third-party apps. In September, the company rolled out social integration to Facebook and has attracted new members ever since.
Spotify has been under pressure recently from competitors such as Google Music, the recently-unveiled free service that allows users to upload, share and browse songs, and then listen to them on the go via cloud storage on Android devices. However, Park said he’s currently more concerned with “providing new ways to keep users engaged on the site and growing that user base” than standing out among competitors.
Parks also noted that the more people remain engaged on the site, “the more likely they are to return and pay for a premium service.”
Spotify members can use the site for free for the first six months and later opt-in to premium packages for unlimited access.
A preview of the new Spotify apps is now available for download.
More About: Music, spotify, Spotify apps
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