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Tag: Spotify

  • Spotify Free Radio Comes To Android

    Spotify Free Radio Comes To Android

    When Spotify launched its free radio service for iOS last month, they said that an Android version was definitely on the way. Now, just over a month later, Android users can now enjoy Spotify’s version of Pandora-like radio for free on the go.

    Of course, for non-premium members, “free” means “ad supported” It’s no different than the desktop or iOS versions – if you don’t want to pay up, you’re going to hear some ad breaks.

    One of the cool things about Spotify radio is that users can save tracks that they like. All of their thumbed-up tracks will be saved into a separate “liked from radio” playlist that’s accessible anytime. It’s a simple feature like this that makes Spotify radio such a good music discovery system.

    Not only that, but Spotify radio offers unlimited user playlists based on starting tracks, and features a rating mechanism that learns your preferences over time. It’s a strong competitor to streaming radio services like Pandora, and is made even stronger by this release onto Android.

    Your free Spotify radio will pull from all of the millions of tracks available, so it’s basically just a personalized, randomized version of the regular Spotify experience.

    Unfortunately for international Spotify users, free radio for Android is only available to U.S. users.

    You can grab to updated version of the app on Google Play.

  • In One Year, U.S. Spotify Users Shared Nearly 28 Million Songs

    Just over one year ago, popular European music streaming app Spotify finally launched in the U.S. after much anticipation. In just a few weeks, the service already had 175,000 paid members and another 1.4 million participating in free trial periods.

    Of course, we all know what happened next; Facebook and Spotify announced a partnership and Spotify became the most social music app on the web.

    As Spotify U.S. celebrates its first birthday, the company has provided a few stats about the last twelve months – all of which are pretty impressive when you think about it. First off, U.S. users have listened to over 13 billion songs.

    Spotify’s apps platform has also seen quite a bit of play:

    Our free apps help you get more out of music. so far, you’ve spent the equivalent of 2,700 years discovering playlists, lyrics, concerts, and reviews (that’s equal to 23.7 million hours!).

    As long as Spotify and Facebook continues to grow their relationship, there’s no reason to think that these figures won’t rise by this time next year. Facebook has already made some changes to artist pages that pushes Spotify use even more. Feature tests suggest that Spotify may find itself displayed even more prominently on the site with a “Share Music” button right next to your status box on the top os users’ news feeds.

    Plus, a couple of months ago, Spotify finally launched an app for the iPad.

    Check out their year of growth below:

    [via The Verge]

  • Here’s This Year’s Inc. 30 Under 30 List

    Here’s This Year’s Inc. 30 Under 30 List

    Inc.com has unveiled the 30 Under 30 list for 2012. On the list, you’ll find the co-founders of Pinterest, the founder of Spotify, and the founder of Dwolla (the mobile payments platform that Ashton Kutcher is investing in), just to name a few.

    “These 30 extraordinary risk-taking companies and their leaders are pushing boundaries and making money in the process,” said Inc. editor in chief Eric Schurenberg. “From helping parents with kids in college, to growing gourmet mushrooms in recycled coffee grounds, to challenging credit card companies on behalf of small business, they represent the best of what those under 30 can and do accomplish. It’s humbling.”

    This is the list that featured Facebook Mark Zuckerberg in 2006, when he was 22. Those who make the list are generally honored to do so. Here’s the list for 2012, as presented by Inc.:

    • Jeremy Johnson, 2tor (which offers online degrees in partnership with major universities)
    • Steve Espinosa, AppStack (a mobile app for small businesses)
    • Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, Back to the Roots (makers of Grow Your Own gourmet mushroom kits)
    • Amy Jain and Daniella Yacobovsky, BaubleBar (an online retailer selling designer jewelry for 60% off retail)
    • Craig Cordes and Antonio LaMartina, Big Easy Blends (which makes frozen, portable, pre-mixed cocktails)
    • Fan Bi and Danny Wong, Blank Label (makers of custom shirts)
    • Ilya Pozin, Ciplex (which focuses on web design and marketing for small companies)
    • Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinksi, Codeacademy (a web platform for teaching computer programming languages)
    • Joe Coleman, Shane Snow, and Dave Goldberg, Contently (a marketplace connecting writers with companies to create quality content marketing)
    • Ben Milne, Dwolla (a versatile payment platform that works on mobile devices)
    • Ray Land, Fabulous Coach Lines (a motorcoach tour company)
    • Adam Pritzker, Matthew Brimer and Brad Hargreaves, General Assembly (a co-working space that offers classes on business, design and technology)
    • Amber Case and Aaron Parecki, Geoloqi (location-aware technology for businesses and governments)
    • Desiree Vargas Wrigley, GiveForward, (a crowdfunding platform for people facing medical emergencies)
    • Jude Gomila and Immad Akhund, Heyzap (a mobile app for the gaming community)
    • Jesse Thomas and Leslie Bradshaw, JESS3 (a creative agency specializing in data visualization)
    • John Hering, Kevin Mahaffey and James Burgess, Lookout Mobile Security (a mobile security app for iPhone and Android phones)
    • Aza Raskin, Massive Health (a mobile app that encourages healthy eating)
    • Andrew Lafoon, Aryk Grosz, Mixbook (which creates photo books with a social spin)
    • Nathan Sigworth, PharmaSecure (mobile software that helps stop drug counterfeiting in the developing world)
    • Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp, Pinterest (the social image-sharing site that is now one of the world’s largest networks)
    • Allison Lami Sawyer, Rebellion Photonics (whose fluorescent imaging camera can detect leaks on natural gas rigs)
    • Rachel Weeks, School House (maker of U.S.-made fashion-forward college gear)
    • Yoav Lurie and Justin Segall, Simple Energy (designer of web-based social games that reward energy conservation)
    • Daniel Ek, Spotify (the wildly popular streaming music service)
    • Lucas Buick and Ryan Dorshorst, Synthetic, (maker of Hipstamatic, the popular photo app.)
    • Kfir and Elram Gavrieli, Tieks (maker of foldable leather ballet flats)
    • Alfredo Atanacio and Rodolfo Schildknechkt, Uassist.ME (matches bilingual virtual assistants with Hispanic executives)
    • Sarah Schupp, University Parent Media (print and online publisher of helpful information for parents of university students)
    • Ziver Berg, Zivelo (the second largest kiosk maker in the world)
    • Daniel Epstein, Tyler Hartung and Teju Ravilochan, The Unreasonable Institute (our not-for-profit honoree — an incubator for social enterprises devoted to solving big world problems)

    Inc. makes a point to note that the winners come from 13 states, including some not typically thought of as entrepreneurial hot spots. These include Idaho, Indiana, and Florida.

  • Yahoo! and Spotify Strike Global Content Distribution Deal

    If you’re a fan of Spotify, you’ll be happy to hear they just struck a deal with Yahoo to bring more music to more listeners. That’s right, Spotify’s music collection is now going to be available through Yahoo.

    It’s going to start on Yahoo Music but will be contextually integrated to other Yahoo media sites as the year progresses.

    In return, Yahoo is creating a Spotify app that will give users access to the best of the music platform as well as original content from Yahoo.

    Daniel Ek, CEO & Founder of Spotify comments on the new partnership with Yahoo:

    “At Spotify we want to light up the Web with music and as Yahoo!’s global music partner we’re able to reach their massive audience,”

    “We are really excited about the new Yahoo! leadership team and thrilled to partner with them to build great experiences around high quality content.”

    Ross Levinsohn, Interim CEO for Yahoo comments on the new partnership with Spotify:

    “Delivering compelling premium experiences across screens is core to our mission at Yahoo!. Spotify is the leader in the digital music field and together we can provide the ‘soundtrack’ for users around the world,”

    “What Daniel and his team are doing is changing an industry, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with them.”

    Currently, Yahoo is getting about 700 million unique viewers every month, and Spotify has around 10 million active users. The partnership will broaden exposure for Spotify and deliver more content for Yahoo users. The Yahoo Spotify app is due out later this year.

  • Spotify Polishes The Brass On RIM’s Titanic

    With everyone speculating about the outcome of Apple’s WWDC, watching Samsung’s Galaxy S III succeed, and awaiting Google I/O this week, it would be fairly easy to over look the fact that Spotify has been officially released for Blackberry.

    The app, which is available for BlackBerry phones from 8520 and up, is a cloud music player that operates on a freemium model. Users can listen to nearly any music they want, though ads will also play on their music stream. An Unlimited or Premium subscription is required to eliminate the ads and raise the cap on how much music can be streamed. Spotify for BlackBerry can be downloaded for free through BlackBerry App World.

    While this is good news for Spotify fans on BlackBerry phones, it seems that niche demographic might soon become extinct. Research In Motion (RIM), the company that designs and manufactures BlackBerry phones, is on the brink of financial chaos. Last week, RIM let thousands more employees go to keep their financial position afloat.

    Today, RIM’s stock is nosediving due to a downgrade from Morgan Stanley. Bloomberg reports that a Morgan Stanley analyst said, “The only way RIM remains a viable entity is at a fraction of its current size, a transformation that erases much of its earnings power.” This is taking into account that the stock has been sliding downward for over a year, from a high of around $70 to its current $9.

    RIM is currently set to release its new smartphone, the BlackBerry 10, sometime this fall. From the previews of the device that have been shown, it’s clear that RIM has finally gotten the message that their old designs will no longer cut it. It’s too late, though. Apple is still gaining market share, as is Android, all at the expense of RIM. If there is a slot for a third competitor in the smartphone market, Microsoft might be able to force its way in with strong Windows Phone 8 integration into its new Windows 8 ecosystem. It’s also a possibility that Samsung might break off from Android and make itself the #1 competitor to Apple.

    The talk today isn’t whether RIM can regain its footing, its about whether the company should split its hardware and software divisions before its inevitable sale. Even if the company manages to actually release the BlackBerry 10, and even if that smartphone has Spotify, it isn’t going to save RIM.

  • Germans Can Now Sign-Up For Spotify Sans Facebook Account

    Since Facebook and Spotify partnered up to bring Open Graph music sharing to the masses, Spotify has required that users register for their service using their Facebook accounts.

    Anyone that attempts to sign up for Spotify today will either have their Facebook info automatically filled in (if they’re logged into Facebook) or they will see a message that states, “You need a Facebook account to register for Spotify. If you have an account, just log in below to register. If you don’t have a Facebook account, get one by clicking the ‘create an account’ link below.”

    It’s simple – Spotify and Facebook are inextricably linked. Well, at least in every country but one.

    German users no longer have to posses a Facebook account to sign up for Spotify. The company confirmed the new policy to Digital Music News, saying,

    We are introducing this new sign-up option in order to offer non-Facebook-connected users in Germany a choice of ways to access Spotify. Spotify remains absolutely committed to our global strategic partnership with Facebook.

    Lucky Germans, some might say. Although a Facebook-less sign-up option would probably be pretty popular in other countries, Spotify told The Next Web that they “have no plans to replicate this in any other markets.”

    As far as the Spotify-Facebook relationship goes, a quick look at your news feed will show you that at least a significant portion of the population is a-ok with it. Facebook just added a “Listen” button on artists’ Timeline page that allows users to instantly check out new music via one of the music-oriented Facebook Open Graph apps (most likely Spotify).

    And yesterday we told you that Facebook was testing a “Share Music” option in the status update bar that allows users to search the Spotify catalog for their current earworm and share it with friends.

    Spotify launched In Germany back in March, and it was a little late to the party. While Spotify cited the language barrier as the issue, many speculated that the real reason had something to do with the country’s strict licensing policies.

  • Facebook Tests “Share Music” Option Alongside “Update Status”

    Of all the Open Graph apps that began popping up on Facebook after the company’s big unveiling at last year’s f8, the music apps seem to be the most prevalent on the site – especially Spotify. I mean, I rarely need to scroll more than a few clicks to see a Spotify update displayed prominently in my News Feed – “John Johnson listened to Radiohead” and such. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person getting their fill of Spotify updates (especially if you’re still watching that ticker).

    The popularity of Spotify (and other music apps like Rdio) might have something to do with a new feature that Facebook is testing. According to screenshots obtained by The Next Web, Facebook is about to add one more option to your share box at the top of your News Feed.

    Apparently, some users are seeing a “Share Music” option right next to “Ask Question,” Add Photo,” and “Update Status.” The box prompts users to search for a song, and when they do a drop-down menu pulls from Spotify’s catalog. Of course, I would expect other catalogs to be incorporated at soem points, but as of now the screenshots only show Spotify.

    Check it out:
    Facebook "Share Music" feature

    Of course, the benefits of this feature are obvious. Users who want to let their friends in on what they’ve been listening to no longer have to sit around and wait for the Open Graph app to push their activity automatically to their Timeline. Music lovers would have ultimate control over sharing their musical choices across the network. Have a song stuck in your head? Want to share it with everyone on Facebook? No longer do you have to go find a video of it on YouTube and post a link – now you can just post your earworm on demand, via Spotify.

    In the last few months, Facebook has down a couple of things to promote music on the site. First, they began allowing users to listen to tracks simultaneously and chat about them. Then, they unveiled the “Listen” button on band pages that when clicked, promptly opens the band’s catalog on the user’s streaming service of choice

    Like all of Facebook’s tests, the “Share Music” feature is only being seen by a select few users. Hopefully they begin to roll this out to more of us soon.

  • Spotify For Android Updated With Full ICS Support

    Spotify has been around the mobile scene for a while now, but Android users have been dealing with being treated like second-rate citizens compared to their iOS counterparts. Not anymore as Spotify has relaunched on Google Play with full ICS support and other features that make the iOS version so popular.

    While the newly updated Spotify app will work on any Android device from 2.3 onward, you’re going to want an ICS phone to take full advantage of all the great new features in Spotify. Beyond the 4.0 integration, the new Spotify app has all-new slide-out navigation that makes it easier to find what you’re looking for. It also comes with a widget to control Spotify from the home screen.

    As for the actual inner workings of the app, it finally has crossfade and gapless playback settings. Even better, the new Spotify includes an “extreme” sound quality for streaming music at 320kbps. There’s also last.fm scrobbling and support for playlist folders.

    Some of the other odds and ends that you can find in the new Android app include a new social element that lets you see friends’ profile pages and playlists. There’s also the ability to see artist imagery in high resolution. Finally, the app is just faster and more stable than past versions.

    Gustav Södertröm, VP Products at Spotify, said: “For all our Android users, this Spotify update is a huge leap forward. We’ve rebuilt it from top to bottom, making it faster, slicker and much better looking.”

    Of course, to use all of these new great features, it’s required that you get Spotify Premium. You get a 48-hour free trial upon downloading the app, but you can extend that to 30 days through a special offer. To get the new Spotify, just hit up Google Play and download it to your device today.

  • The Social Media Leaders [Infographic]

    The Social Media Leaders [Infographic]

    So you think you know everything about social media and networking? Well the truth is, it has been around a lot longer than Facebook, but like a lot of things on the internet, we don’t hear about them until they are trendy and popular, or somebody gets sued over them.

    This next infographic from Socialjumpstart.com shows us who the big names in social networking are and how long they’ve been around. It covers everybody who has a presence online today. Of course, Facebook comes out on top, no surprise there.

    Reddit, Club Penguin, Tagged, Spotify, and even the big guys like Twitter, and Linkedin show up on this graphic. So if you want to get the lowdown on what’s happening in social networking today, you need look no further. Enjoy!

    social media giants

  • Spotify Might Raise $220 Million

    Spotify Might Raise $220 Million

    According to a source knowledgable on the matter, music streaming service Spotify is on the process of raising hundreds of millions of dollars, with a potential valuation of $4 billion. According to the New York Times, Spotify may ultimately garner roughly $220 million, with possibly $100 million coming from Goldman Sachs.

    Spotify, based in Sweden, was launched in the U.S. last year, and currently has about 19.9 million monthly users subscribing to its free and pay services. Spotify brought in $250 million in revenue in 2011, up 160%, though saw losses of around $59 million. As of April, the platform brought in $887 million, though in an interview, CEO Daniel Ek stated, “The question of when we’ll show a profit actually feels irrelevant. Our focus is entirely on growth. It is priority one, two, three, four and five.” Spotify is presently more concerned with grabbing more users around the world, in the setting up of a legitimate subscription service.

    Ek seeks to build Spotify into a platform that will stand the test of time, and states, “the stock exchange is not an option for us” – still, the stock market might be the only exit that investors will eventually seek. Ek goes on to say, “At those levels ($4 billion valuation), we would definitely be interested in talking. We have no need of more capital in the current situation in order to operate the business plan we have. But I have learned to always take the money when you do not need the money. If an investor can add strategic value and the valuation is good, we are interested.” It would appear that the results so far of Spotify’s focus on growth don’t have investors worried.

  • Spotify Gets Romantic With New Apps, Becomes More Like A Dating site

    Spotify just announced a couple of partnerships and the launch of two apps aimed at matching you with potential romantic partners based on your musical tastes. The partnerships and apps come from Tastebuds.fm and Fellody.com.

    According to Spotify, the former will match you with a partner based on the artists you’ve listened to most on Spotify, as well as your collection of playlists. The latter lets you drag and drop Spotify playlists into the app to find friends and “potential love interests” with the highest match rate.

    “Your taste in music is one of the most common topics of conversation when meeting someone, whether they are a date or just a new friend, and it’s hugely important to have compatible tastes,” says Spotify’s Director of Platform, Sten Garmark. “Harmony on Spotify might just be a great way to find new friends or start a new relationship!”

    Tastebuds on Spotify

    Tastebuds on Spotify

    Tastebuds, Spotify

    Tastebuds.fm co-founder Alex Parish says, “Spotify and Tastebuds.fm both believe that music is the most effective way of connecting people.”

    According to Parish, 43% of first messages get a reply on Tastebuds. Parish says this is “a much higher response rate than non-music based dating sites.”

    “After our successful launch with Spotify in Germany, we are now very happy to welcome all Spotify users on Fellody, where they might get more groupies with their taste in music than Robbie Williams during the 90’s,” adds Fellody fco-founder Robin Simon. “With Spotify you have the world’s music at your fingertips and Fellody gives you instant access to a worldwide community of music lovers.”

    Tastebuds, Spotify

    “Actually, since we launched, our international user base is growing very fast – music lovers from more than 70 different countries talk, discuss and flirt on Fellody already,” says Simon.

    While the Spotify app platform is still very young, it’s already been very interesting to see the kinds of things being built upon it. Between its own apps and its expanding presence on Facebook, and now the iPad, Spotify is building up some serious momentum in the online music space.

    Both new apps are available within the Spotify App Finder.

  • Spotify Launches App for iPad

    Spotify Launches App for iPad

    Music streaming service Spotify has just launched a long-awaited app for iPad for use by Premium service members, though trial subscribers can test it out as well. Premium Spotify users pay a monthly fee, and the content is streamed directly from Spotify’s servers, as with the iPhone version of the app. This practice hints at the possible future direction of the company’s content platform, moving away from the P2P sharing model currently running on desktop versions.

    So, trial users can test out the new app for 48 hours, which can be extended to 30 days after filling out some forms on iTunes, allowing subscribers to:

    – Access millions of tracks
    – Stream online
    – Listen offline – no mobile connection needed
    – Share music with your friends
    – Star your favorite tracks
    – Wirelessly sync your own MP3s to your iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad
    – Create and sync playlists
    – Send the tracks you listen to direct to Last.fm & Facebook

    Below is a clip that shows off the iPad app a bit:

    Spotify has released a multitude of apps of late, including Digster and Play it Again Sam, though like with the iPhone version if the new app, the iPad version won’t work with every other app the platform offers. On a related note, a friend was recently mixing audio for a live, 5-piece musical performance at the downtown library, using an iPad as the sole controller – it would seem like the new Spotify app would be a good way to push a signal to a larger home entertainment center. No word on why the app took so long to make it to iPad, though the launch will likely eclipse the buzz surrounding Spotify’s partnership with Coke.

  • SiriusXM App For Android Updated With 5 Hour Replay

    SiriusXM App For Android Updated With 5 Hour Replay

    Sirius XM Radio announced today that a free update to their SiriusXM Android app has been released. The company claims the new app, which can now be downloaded in the Google Play app marketplace, will give subscribers to their service more control over how to listen to SiriusXM content.

    “This updated and enhanced SiriusXM Internet Radio App for Android, the top smartphone platform in the U.S., now gives current and future subscribers access to more programming, including more live sports play-by-play, and more control over when and where they listen to their favorite SiriusXM channels and programs,” said Jim Meyer, President of Operations and Sales at SiriusXM. “We are pleased to bring these new and exciting features to our subscribers, and we will continue to evolve our SiriusXM Internet Radio offerings this year by adding greater functionality on smartphones, mobile devices and online.”

    The biggest change in this update is “Start Now” which allows subscribers to select and listen to content previously broadcast on many channels, up to 5 hours in the past. “Tune Start” will now automatically start a song from its beginning when tuning in to a station, and the app now allows users to pause live radio, replay a song or segment, and skip forward. In addition, the app now includes a “Show Finder,” which is a programming guide that offers a complete list of programming up to a week ahead. Users can set reminder alerts for themselves using the “Show Finder.”

    SiriusXM claims the update, which includes a design overhaul for the app, is part of the rollout of what they are calling SiriusXM 2.0, a service they hope will span “hardware, software, audio, and data services.” It is interesting to see companies whose business models have become outdated adapt to changing technologies. With satellite radio all but defunct, SiriusXM will have to compete with online radio models such as Pandora and Spotify, and these features seem to be a step in the right direction. Even so, to stand a chance the company will have to keep Howard Stern happy.

    What do you think? Is SiriusXM on the right track to remain competitive? Should the company abandon its subscription model altogether? Leave a comment below and let me know.

  • Deezer Uses Open Graph To Share Your Jams

    With the explosion of Spotify, there are other music services that are clamoring for a piece of the lucrative music streaming pie. France-based Deezer is doing quite well for itself despite only being available in only a few countries at the moment. Part of that success is due to its social sharing actions which is why they’re the subject of this week’s Facebook developer spotlight.

    Like the apps before this, the major game change for Deezer has been Open Graph. Integrating itself into Facebook has made sharing easier for its members while driving up usage. Deezer does this through the use of “liking a song, sharing a playlist and commenting on songs.” All of this information is then shared on the user’s Facebook Timeline for their friends to see.

    In a Spotify for Facebook fashion, Deezer’s activity feed will show what your friends are listening to, what songs they like and recently joined members. All of this is to promote the discovery of new music and increase the sharing of musical tastes, etc. You could even take one of the new members under your wing and show them the error of their ways when they’re listening to Nicki Minaj by showing them the superior Ke$ha.

    Since privacy and control of our information is such a hot button issue now, Deezer allows users to take full control of what they want shared to Facebook. With the sharing permissions being merged, it should be even easier for Deezer to drive up Facebook usage.

    Deezer had about 605,000 monthly active users back in September of 2011. That same month, the app launched with Open Graph support which saw its MAU jump by three times to 2 million. Once again developers, Open Graph is important. Unless you just have some kind of deep-seated hatred for improved social sharing, Open Graph is the way to go when it comes to driving traffic to your app or Web site.

  • Microsoft Planning E3 Preview Of New Music Service

    Is Microsoft about to make a big push into the digital music space?

    Yes, Microsoft has Zune, but the only problem with Zune is that…wait, what’s Zune? We’re talking about a legitimate Zune successor here, and according to The Verge, Microsoft plans to give everyone a little taste at this year’s E3 conference.

    Back in February, we told you about Microsoft’s rumored music service. According to reports, the company was in talks with record companies to launch the new service on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone. It was rumored that the new service would allow users to stream and download music, which would throw it in direct competition with services like iTunes, Google Play, and even Spotify.

    According to The Verge’s sources, the service is codenamed “Woodstock,” and will be compatible across multiple platforms including iOS and Android. Another key component is apparently deep Facebook integration, something we’ve seen Spotify capitalize on in recent months.

    Apparently we’ll get the sneak peek at E3, and it will launch sometime later in 2012. This will probably be Microsoft’s big 2012 release, as we’re all pretty sure that there’s not going to be any talks about a new Xbox anytime this year.

    The success or failure of this upcoming venture will be determined by Microsoft’s ability to penetrate a market where many users feel completely comfortable with what they have. Cross-platform or not, it’s going to be difficult to pull users away from iTunes and Google Play if Microsoft’s new service focuses heavily on buying music. If it’s more like Spotify, that will be a whole other thing.

    What do you think about Microsoft’s new push into digital music? Let us know in the comments.

    [Lead Image via Wikipedia]

  • Your Social Music Experience: A Primer

    Your Social Music Experience: A Primer

    2012 is probably going to be year that the word “social” reaches its saturation point and it becomes a parody of itself. Social nose-blowing, social traffic (cars, not browsers), social bathrooms – you name it, someone will probably find a way to make an online social experience out of it. “Social” is the most overly used adjective in any and all technology goings-on and for good reason: literally every possible service, whether its from sharing PDFs to talking about dinner recommendations to ads for sneakers, has become a “social” experience with how everybody is encouraged to share whatever simple activity it is that they’re doing at any given moment. Plus, it’s all but a codified practice now to include some kind of social network integration into a site’s user experience. Seriously, when was the last time you signed up for a new account somewhere and weren’t given the option to sign in using your Facebook or Twitter account? It’s all over the place.

    With the exception of perhaps the newest generation of blog services, this socialized online experience has been most common among music sites. Everything from watching a single concert video on YouTube to creating fully personalized radio stations on Pandora and last.fm are all encouraged if not outright expected to be shared among your friends on various social networks. It’s the latest lumbering step into this cultured narcissism that’s pervading every single activity we do in our online lives.

    Love it or hate it, though, you might as well get used to this modus operandi to stick around, so to keep you up to speed with the major websites specializing in socializing the jams you treat your ears to, HighTable.com put together a great infographic primer to give you a soft introduction into the sites you should know about. In the end, you probably won’t be able to buy MP3s from iTunes or Amazon without having some kind of wonky code embedded into it that automatically beams the play count of each track to your Twitter account, but whatever. But if this is indeed the trend of social music, can we start calling ourselves music socialists? Oh wait, that’s right – we can have social everything so long as it’s not medicine and prosperity. Got it.

    INFOGRAPHIC: Dance on Demand: A Look at the Modern Social Music Revolution

    [Via Visual.ly.]

  • Spotify Partners with Coca-Cola; iPad App on the Way!

    Spotify held a special announcement event today and many fans of the streaming music service were speculating that it had to do with the much anticipated tablet version of the service for iPad. Sadly for many, this was not the purpose of the meeting, but it didn’t stop founder Daniel Ek from confirming that the app is indeed “in the works”.

    The good news about the Coca-Cola/Spotify partnership is that it will allow users of the streaming music service to share and discover music all over the world like never before.
    Under the new agreement, Spotify will provide technology for Coca-Cola Music globally, and support the Coke in their mission to provide consumers with universal access to music. In return, the soft drink super giant will integrate Spotify into all of its Facebook and Timeline media, creating a seamless and refreshing social music experience.

    Obviously it’s a mutually beneficial relationship as Spotify gains access to huge new markets through the Coke brand, and Coca-Cola gains product placement opportunities through Spotify’s ever increasing and enthusiastic user-base.

    Daniel Ek, Founder and CEO, Spotify comments on the powerful new partnership:

    “Coca-Cola is the most recognized and respected brand in the world and we are proud to be their music partner,”

    “Spotify and Coca-Cola both believe that music, technology and creativity can connect people around the globe.”

    Joe Belliotti, Director of Global Entertainment Marketing at the Coca-Cola Company also comments on the new partnership:

    “At Coca-Cola we have long recognized the power of music to connect people around the world,”

    “As we step up our activation through Coca-Cola Music, we are excited by the innovative music technology platform created by Spotify and the opportunity to create a truly global music network. The potential for this partnership is limitless.”

    Take a look at this video on the Coca-Cola and Spotify Hackden event to learn more about what the partnership has in store for users:

  • Facebook’s New “Listen” Button Makes Discovering Your Next Favorite Artist a Breeze

    Facebook has just made it easier for you to listen to your favorite artist without really ever leaving Facebook. More importantly, Facebook just also made it easier to discover new artists in a flash, which in turns makes you more likely to “like” them, or perhaps click on over to their shop and buy some merch.

    Basically what I’m saying is that Facebook’s new “Listen” button is great for both artists and users alike. Folks like Apple and profile apps like ReverbNation? Not so much.

    Now live on musicians’ pages is the new “Listen” button, positioned right next to the “like” button at the top right of their Timeline. Clicking on the Listen button will automatically open up your most-used streaming music app – whether that be Spotify, Rdio, or MOG. If you’ve yet to connect any of those apps to your Facebook profile, you’ll be prompted to set one up (most likely Spotify).

    Facebook Listen Button Radiohead

    Your app will open up an there you go. You’re now listening to songs from that particular artist with very minimal effort. Let’s say you love the band’s sound – just look how close you are to those “like” and “shop” buttons!

    It just keeps getting better for apps like Spotify. If you’ve spent any time on Facebook, you have probably been inundated with news feed and ticker posts about how this friend or that friend is rocking out to some artist on Spotify (or some other service). Back in January, Facebook also launched a sort of music sharing feature that allows people to listen with a friend, at the same time that they’re listening to a song.

    So, you’re browsing your news feed and you see that your good friend just “liked” Local Natives. So you head on over to their Facebook page and click on the giant Listen button up top. You think they sound great and “like” them too. Now you’ve just discovered your new favorite band without ever leaving Facebook – which is of course the plan all along.

  • Spotify Sees Sales of $887 Million

    Regardless of Spotify’s strained negotiation with the artists whose content it streams, the company reported a turnover of $887 million so far this year, according to CEO Daniel Ek, during an interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri today. In 2011, Spotify raised $100 million in venture capital in its fourth round, from DST, Kleiner Perkins and Accel, achieving valuation of $1 billion. Now, in a fifth round, Spotify could grab another $200 million, putting its value at around $4 billion. But Ek says his company doesn’t exactly need the extra funds right now, and doesn’t want to exit through the stock market.

    Spotify brought in $250 million in revenue in 2011, up 160%, though saw losses of around $59 million. Though Ek states, “The question of when we’ll show a profit actually feels irrelevant. Our focus is entirely on growth. It is priority one, two, three, four and five.” Spotify is presently more concerned with grabbing more users around the world, in the setting up of a legitimate subscription service. The company has been expanding, integrating with The Echo Nest music metadata platform, launching an embeddable play button widget, as well as developing a host of new apps.

    Ek seeks to build Spotify into a platform that will stand the test of time, and states, “the stock exchange is not an option for us” – still, the stock market might be the only exit that investors will eventually seek. Ek goes on to say, “At those levels ($4 billion valuation), we would definitely be interested in talking. We have no need of more capital in the current situation in order to operate the business plan we have. But I have learned to always take the money when you do not need the money. If an investor can add strategic value and the valuation is good, we are interested.”

    So, Ek doesn’t need the money, wants the money, but doesn’t want to go public, which leaves little by way of options for private exit for investors down the road.

  • New Spotify Apps Are A Mixed Bag Worth Exploring

    Spotify’s announcement this week about their new Play Button kind of overshadowed their other announcement that they were releasing a few new apps into their collection. It should be a simple matter to run through a list of a dozen apps and find something that you like. But Spotify’s apps get challenging.

    [Note: All the apps reviewed below are available from within Spotify itself. Go to the App finder on the left side of the program.]

    Remember how there used to be a whole load of iOS apps that did little more than open Safari and send you to the webpage of the company behind the “app”? Sometimes that’s what Spotify apps are. They are nothing more than playlists that a company, label, etc. puts together. They could just as easily publish the playlist on their website (or use the new-fangled “Play Button widget). But, no. They cook up a package of menus and links and call it an app. These are disappointing because, once you listen through what they have to offer and star or re-list the stuff you like, there is never a reason to visit that list again. The app gets stale. Now, if they curate that app with new stuff, fine.

    Digster is just such an app. I have little use for this thing past the first few minutes. It’s a collection of someone else’s playlists. They’re just saying, “Hey, listen to what we compiled.” Which is likely another way of saying, “Hey, listen to the artists we’re promoting.” Boo.

    The Warner Sound app is another one. Guess what this thing is. Yep, a bunch of playlists and new releases by people on the Warner labels. They’re ok for browsing through for a bit to see what’s up. But they serve no useful purpose beyond the first browsing. Delete.

    And I’m not just griping because it’s a major label. The app called Domino is really just promoting the indie Domino label. Artists on that label make playlists of music that influenced them, etc. Nothing dynamic.

    There are things to like in the Spotify app listing. We’ll get to that. there is a bit more to grouse about first.

    Some apps have dynamic social capabilities built in, and that could be good. But these require you to sign in with Facebook. So while I may be missing out on a rich cornucopia of music by refusing to do that, I’ll take my chances.

    You see, there are other ways to do this socially. For example, Tweetvine is an app that dynamically collects the tunes that have been mentioned on Twitter with the hashtag #nowplaying. This is an opt-in way of sharing what you want others to see. Nothing to approve or permissions to give.

    PIAS (Play It Again Sam) is another playlist collection. Again, good for sifting through to find what you like and then moving those to lists of your own. But it’s not an app I would stay in, discovering and grooving on a regular basis.

    One of the flashier, but most useless, apps I have seen in the new batch is called The Complete Collection. It supposedly brings artists’ “complete collections” together in one place. The trouble is, Spotify already does that. Just click on the artist name and, bam, their whole catalog. Even sillier is that The Complete Collection only has twelve artists listed. So it is a basic Spotify function that must now be curated for people who never noticed that their mouse pointer turned to a hand when they moved over an artist’s name.

    It’s not all dark in the Spotify app world. Some apps really show the others how it’s done.

    One of the best apps in the new round of releases is one that I would not use all that much myself, but the layout and design really need to be adopted by others. It’s the best of the bunch, actually. It is called Classify and is for classical music. I dig classical, but I don’t spend my day listening to it while I write, etc. If the interface from Classify was applied to rock music, it would be my favorite app.

    What Classify does that outpaces every other app is to give you multiple ways to explore. It has recommended playlists, sure. But while most apps stop there, Classify gives you more choices. You can listen to playlists by composer. Explore Bach for a while, then Mozart, then Liszt, etc.

    But wait, there’s more. You can explore by era. The seven distinct eras of classical music are available: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century and Contemporary.

    But wait…

    You can explore by mood (romantic, sad, dark, relaxing, happy, fast). You choose by instrument (cello, clarinet, flute, etc.) you can choose by theme (opera, chamber music, soloists, symphonies).

    This thing is like six apps in one. Somebody do this for rock! Imagine being able to explore rockabilly one minute, opera rock the next, then on to protest songs, punk, emo, etc. Sure, Spotify already has a “radio” function, but that always seems to go stale fast.

    And to be able to get lost in bands that have legendary drummers (Rush, Tool, Led Zep), then guitar gods (Page, Hendrix, Van Halen). An app like that would be worth something. Pay attention developers.

    Another new app that is curated and must be kept up to be worthwhile is The Legacy Of. There are only 4 artists in it right now but the potential is amazing. You can peruse the biography, pics and discography of the featured acts. But the additional material is what really makes this app worthwhile. The Top Tracks, Influencers, Followers and Covers playlists are brilliant additions to this collection. See who influenced them, who they themselves influenced, listen to playlists of all of that. Could be one of the best apps out there if they keep adding to it.

    Another handy app that is not in the latest release batch but still deserves recognition as useful is TuneWiki. If lyrics are available for the song you are listening to, TuneWiki will put them up for you, even advancing through them as the song plays. This is available as a mobile app, as well. But it is nice to have right here within the desktop interface of Spotify.

    Of course, it takes all kinds in this world. Maybe some people just want to just read reviews and thumb through others’ playlists, and that is fine. But it seems a bit of overkill to buil an “app” around such basic functionality that is already served by the Play Button or within Spotify itself. But, keep ’em coming, Spotify. Just get rid of that Facebook-only signup. Blecchh.

  • New Echo Nest Partnerships Should Cater To More Awesome Music Apps

    The Echo Nest is partnering with JamBase and SongMeanings to give developers more data for their music apps. The former will provide concert and tour schedule data, while the latter will provide song lyrics and lyric interpretation.

    “Partnerships like these are driving the digital music industry forward,” the company tells WebProNews. “They increase accessibility and variety of content available to developers, better connect fans to the music they love, and bring artists revenue.”

    The JamBase and SongMeanings integrations will become part of The Echo Nest’s Rosetta Stone project. Rosetta Stone already had tour and lyric data for developers, but they bring an expanded catalog in these areas to the offering.

    “Before these partnerships, some, but not a lot of tour and lyric data was available in the Rosetta Stone,” CEO Jim Lucchese tells WebProNews. “Adding data from JamBase and SongMeanings brings more tour/lyric content and variety for developers to chose from; for example, JamBase has tour info. And our existing partnership with Seatwave enables concert ticket sales, combined, this makes for a more complete, experience; or SongMeanings offers lyric interpretation submitted by fans, where as our existing partner LyricFind offers exact lyrics, again, a richer, diverse experience.”

    There seem to be a lot of partnership announcements coming out from Echo Nest. A major one with Spotify was announced a couple weeks ago, which integrated the APIs from the two organizations to make Spotify’s apps more developer friendly.

    “Integrating Spotify’s artist and song IDs creates an efficiency where the developer now only has to use one ID structure to have access to The Echo Nest’s rich music data platform along with the streaming music of Spotify as well as our other partners in Rosetta Stone,” Shane Tobin, Director of Strategic Partnerships at The Echo Nest told us at the time.

    Spotify, of course, revealed its third-party app platform last last year. “Spotify has called its app platform the company’s biggest announcement since it launched, and rightfully so,” The Echo Nest said. “In the first three months that Spotify apps were available, music fans listened to over 1,500 years of music within them.”

    Even more recently, as in last week, The Echo Nest announced a partnership with Raditaz, a Pandora competitor, to add metadata to 14 million songs.

    “This is how we have always operated,” Lucchese tells us with regards to this spate of partnerships. “Now, we’re talking about it.”

    “As part of that initiative, The Echo Nest is distributing a ‘powered by’ logo to help our clients stand out in an increasingly competitive digital media landscape,” he adds. “When music fans encounter our logo, they will know that it accompanies a first-rate music experience grounded in a human- and machine-driven understanding of music. If it’s powered by The Echo Nest, it’s smarter, and our partners realize that.”

    Some of The Echo Nest’s key partners include: EMI, Spotify, Clear Channel Radio, MOG, Twitter, Universal Music Group, Nokia, MTV, Seatwave, eMusic, BBC, 7Digital, Rdio, Discovr, Raditaz, SpotOn Radio, Jog.fm, Cadence, Upbeat Workouts, AudioVroom, Bandito, Muzine, MusicMine, LyricFind, GrooveBug, Music Hunter, Music Tandem, Record Beater, Music+, and now JamBase and SongMeanings.

    When asked about potential partnerships, Lucchese says, “We can’t speak to what exactly is in the queue, but yes, The Echo Nest hopes to continue supplying developers with music data (currently at more than 5B data points on more than 30M songs) and engaging music fans at a higher-than-ever level (close to 300 music apps and services have been using our music intelligence, with a customer base that reaches more than 150M music fans worldwide).”

    We asked him what the most interesting implementations of The Echo Nest have been so far. “Too many to count!” he says. “One of our personal favorites is Drinkify which came out of Music Hack Day Boston 2011–you enter an artist, it gives you a drink!”

    Drinkify

    I agree. That’s pretty awesome.

    Here’s another interview we did with Lucchese last week: