Spotify is a music streaming service that debuted in late 2008. It’s the most popular music streaming service in the world with over 200 million users (as of January 2019).
The free version allows users to stream songs for free with ads (mobile version only allows for shuffling). Paid users can have full access to the entire library for listening. Pricing is $9.99 per month for individual users and $14.99 per month for families (up to six people). There are additional plans for students that include bundled with Hulu. Apps are available for iPhone, iPad, macOS, and the web.
In early 2019, it purchased Gimlet Media and Anchor as a transition to becoming an “audio company” vs a music-only company.
A new iPad version of Shazam available today introduces a whole raft of new functions, ranging from passive tagging without user input to the ability to recognise a song and then play it in Spotify or Rdio.
With passive tagging, the app continually listens to any music in the background and automatically tags it, ideal for use in bars where you may idly wonder what a track is but not want to go to the trouble of manually checking. The feature also works in the background, displaying a notification while the iPad is running other apps. Shazam’s claim of one-second tagging appears somewhat optimistic, however: a random sampling of tracks I tested took the usual several seconds.
LyricPlay displays lyrics in sync with the background music (Encore version only), while you can now immediately open the currently-playing track in either Rdio (all versions) or Spotify (Encore version only).
Shazam for iPad also introduces the kind of networked feature which seems to be expected in apps these days even if we’re not quite sure why. You can see which music and TV shows people are currently tagging in your country, city of neighborhood – as well as use a map to see tagging charts for anywhere else in the world.
Twitter #music takes a step toward filling the void created when everyone migrated from MySpace, which was one of the most effective music discovery tools for me until it was largely vacated.
Twitter promises to “change the way people find music, based on Twitter,” per the social network’s blog, which I believe will be widely appreciated.
Spotify version 0.6.0: Perhaps the biggest update today goes to the Spotify iOS app which, on top of receiving a “shiny new interface” equipped with a sidebar, includes a “Now Playing” bar, a new Track menu, and a number of other new features and fixes:
• New: Shiny new interface. You can navigate around the app with a new sidebar. Check it out by swiping left-to-right, or by pressing the ≣ button in the top left of the app.
• New: Now Playing bar. You’ll always see what you’re listening to along the bottom of Spotify. To switch tracks, just swipe along it. Tap or drag to see more information about the current track. Tap the cover art in the extended view to use AirPlay, and disable/enable shuffle and repeat.
• New: Track menu. Tap the … button on any track to see a redesigned context menu.
• Fixed: “Track only available online” issues. This would sometimes appear after start-up, or when you’d been offline for a little while. Not any more.
• Fixed: Lock screen will now always display the correct track.
• Fixed: Shuffle now switches off after you’ve used “Shuffle Play” on an album or playlist.
Waze version 3.6:Waze, one of Apple’s Maps partners and an app CEO Tim Cook recommended as an alternative during the iOS 6 Maps controversy, gets some nice new features today. Among the new features is real-time road closure reporting and routing, a refined map with only relevant road names, and much more:
✓ Report road closures in real time. Waze will close off the road and route others around it
✓ Report pins tilted on map to better indicate direction of event
✓ Reduced map clutter by showing only relevant road names
✓ New moods!
✓ New inbox with multiple message selection
✓ Update gas prices popup: When in gas station users prompted to update price (Europe only)
✓ Optimized performance and multiple bug fixes
PanoPerfect for iPad: We’ve told you about the PanoPerfect app before– an Instagram type experience designed specifically for sharing panorama shots. Today the developers have released its first iPad version of the app and also revamped the iPhone app.
PanoPerfect is a free, fun, and simple way to share beautiful panoramic photos on your iPhone. Find, follow, and share gorgeous panoramic photos with friends. Panorama’s go into a stream where you can comment and like your favorite ones.
Bad Piggies version 1.2.0:Rovio’s popular Bad Piggies franchise gets updated today with 30 new “Flight in the Night levels,” 6 Road Hogs levels, new achievements and much more. The free apps and HD iPad versions receive the same update today.
Skype for iPhone version 4.1.2:The Skype iOS app finally gets official support for the iPhone 5’s taller display this morning:
-Support for iPhone 5 display. -Bug fixes.
Adobe Photoshop Express version 2.6:A nice update for Adobe’s Photoshop Express iOS app brings new sharing and editing features including the ability to “tap to eliminate red-eye” and and make more precise edits with numerical values:
• Easily tag faces while sharing photos to Facebook. • Share photos more quickly with updated sharing screens. • Simply tap to eliminate red-eye. • Make more precise edits now that adjustment sliders display numerical values. • View animated Help content to get up and running quickly. • Use the app on the latest Apple devices thanks to support for iOS6. • Count on bug fixes, performance boosts, and in-app notifications for greater speed and ease-of-use
Overgram:Creators of the Over iPhone app for adding creative typography to photos and sharing them on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr & Instagram is out today with a free version of the app called Overgram. The free version provides 10 of the 225 fonts found in the paid Over version.
In only a few seconds you can add captions, quotes, jokes, memes, poems or anything else you can think of to a photo… STUNNING FONTS: We ♥ typography! We carefully selected 10 amazing fonts that will make your photos beautiful and engaging.
Spotify made a huge stride when it launched in the United States in July 2011, which opened a partnership with Facebook that has paid off. The music streaming company looks to be expanding even further, as the Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Spotify is expected to launch in Canada soon. Furthermore, Spotify may also expand into Asia and South America. Spotify’s latest annual accounts tipped WSJ off on the news:
Last year, Spotify established subsidiaries in Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong, all places where its service isn’t yet available. Spotify is currently available in 15 countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, and recently launched in Australia and New Zealand. Company spokeswoman Sofie Grant declined to elaborate on the details of the company’s expansion plans, but said Spotify “of course plans to launch in new countries.”
Many ditched Apple’s iTunes and services like Pandora for Spotify, including me, because the ease of building playlists and finding new music on Spotify is certainly impressive. The only downfall is that the premium plan costs $10 a month, which offers unlimited music without ads, but I find the money to be worth it. Spotify recently introduced a free unlimited radio — launched on its Android — in July.
Other than the notable apps and updates below, developers of Shazam, the “9th most downloaded app of all time,” announced today its song recognition service has been used to identify over 5 billion songs. The five billionth tagged song on Shazam was “Blow Me One Last Kiss” by Pink. Head below for our full list of new apps and updates hitting the App Store today:
Sparrow for Mac version 1.6.3: Sparrow’s Mac App Store app was updated today with a number of performance enhancements and fixes. A full list of what’s new in version 1.6.3 is below:
– improved performance when loading huge conversations
– URL in subject can be clicked
– date and subject in headers can be selected
– improved avatar in message cells
– improved IMAP compatibility
– brazilian localization
– fixed progress indicator in message view
– fixed crash when loading some HTML messages
– fixed crash with POP accounts fixed
Spotify version 0.5.4: Spotify received a decent update today that brings the ability to show more stations for iPad users, fixes login issues for Facebook users, and adds stability improvements.
The New Yorker Magazine: Previously only available as an iPad app, The New Yorker is now bringing all of its magazine content to the iPhone with a new universal app available on the App Store now. To celebrate the release of the iPhone version, you will be able to get the Aug. 13 and Aug. 20 issues completely free (old issues are not accessible on the iPhone app). Expand Expanding Close
Spotify provided some updates at the Global Business Summit on Creative Content in London today. TNW reported that Spotify exec Ken Parks announced the service now has 4 million paying subscribers and 15 million active users worldwide. That is up from the 2.5 million paying subscribers that the company officially announced in November 2011, and Spotify previously claimed “more than 10 million active users” with around 3 million paying subscribers as of last month.
Xbox LIVE version 1.6: There are more than a few notable updates today, starting with the Xbox LIVE app that just received iPad support for the controller features rolled out to iPhone users in June. Among the new features for iPad: the app will now allow you to “connect, control and discover content” on your Xbox 360 console through a quickplay list of content, and it provides controls for play, pause, fast forward, and rewind.
Nike+ Running version 4.0.2: Nike is constantly adding new features to its iOS apps, and the Nike+ Running app was updated today with the following enhancements:
– Sharing has changed. Your run gets posted to your timeline, so even though you won’t see it on your newsfeed, your friends will see it in theirs.
– Quick start. Just hold down the Run button and you’re off with the new Quick Start feature.
– Pro Tip: Rotate your phone to landscape when looking at your run summary to view your mile splits.
– We are continually working to give you the best possible running experience. This update includes performance stability and GPS improvements. We appreciate your feedback.
Spotify version 0.5.3: Also updated today was the Spotify iOS app, which received a new context menu in search for iPad users, as well as stability improvements and a number of fixes to common issues.
As always, we will continue to update this list as more updates roll out today…
Below is our usual list of the most notable app-related news from today, including, among others: new web radio features for Spotify, the release of Bento 4 for iPad, and updates to both the Square Register and Pay With Square iOS apps.
Spotify Version 0.5.2:First, we have an update to the Spotify iOS app that brings a new radio experience to the service. A report from AllThingsD detailed the new web radio service and described it as “more or less mirrors Pandora’s core radio service.” The service would include advertising and offers users the ability to listen free on mobile devices, and it would initially launch for iPad and iPhone with an Android version in development. The iTunes page explained users could now start radio stations based on genres, artists, playlists, and albums, as well as customize their stations “by voting tracks up or down.”
Square Register & Pay with Square: Square updated two of its main iOS app today with new features. The Square Register app now allows merchants to offer reward cards including punch cards for repeat customers and “Visit specials” to attract new customers. On the customer’s side of things, the Pay with Square app was updated with an interface to view and manage the rewards, specials, and punch cards. FastCompany has a nice breakdown of all the new features.
Bento 4 for iPad: Filemaker released Bento 4 for iPad today for the introductory price of $4.99 (goes up to $10 on July 31). It also included a ton of new features, such as: new drag and drop tools, 40 new themes, “Direct Access to the Bento Template Exchange,” and “Form view, Table view, Split view and Full Screen view.” As noted by The Loop, Apple posted Bento 4 as a new app on the App Store, which means owners of previous Bento apps will have to pay for the upgrade.
Spotify just released version 0.5.1 of its universal iOS app. The new version adds push notifications for updates to playlists that you are subscribed to, new subscribers, and when a friend joins Spotify. The update also brings a number of fixes, updated artwork for Retina displays, and Retina graphics for offline playlists. We are not so sure how many people will find push for Spotify useful, because those subscribed to many playlists will likely be bombarded by notifications. The good news is you can switch them off from Settings. Unfortunately, you cannot specify notifications for specific playlists. You can check out the full list of changes from the update below: Expand Expanding Close
Looking to usurp rival competitors like Spotify and MOG, Sony today launched its Music Unlimited streaming service as an iOS app. We told you in January that it was coming, but today the free app officially hits the App Store with subscriptions starting at $3.99 a month for varying access to the service’s 15 million+ songs and playback features. There is also a 30-day free trial of the premium service.
Previously only available to Android users and Sony products such as PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray players, the service offers two paid subscriptions options, including: a $4 Basic plan that provides basic channels and access to your own library; and a $10 Premium account giving you access to on demand playback for Sony’s catalogue, offline listening. The more expensive packages also offers the ability to create playlists, and access charts, new releases, and premium channels. Unlike Spotify, which recently debuted its iPad app, the Music Unlimited app does not have an iPad-specific version.
The Sony Music Unlimited app is available in the New Zealand App Store now, and it should hit the United States and other supported markets soon. As of March, Sony offered the service in 14 countries including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. A full list of features for Basic and Premium subscribers is below:
There were leaks last month showing what might have been our first look at the Spotify iPad app, but today the company officially launched its long-awaited app with a blog post and the video above. The free app has already landed in the App Store as a universal download (an update for users of the iPhone app), and the service offers a 48-hour free trial for non-Premium subscribers with the ability to increase it to 30 days.
Our iPad app looks great. We’ve included Retina graphics and high-definition album art to make browsing a pleasure. Enjoying all the world’s music instantly on your iPad has never been easier. And with the brand new full-screen view and AirPlay integration, Spotify and your iPad are perfect for each other, both as your pumped-up living room stereo and your lean, green music machine when you’re on the move.
Compared to Spotify’s iPhone experience, the iPad app has been completely redesigned with a layered UI more familiar to Facebook iPad app users and packs most of the service’s features apart from the recently launched Web apps. It also includes a new full-screen mode with Retina graphics to take advantage of the device’s display and AirPlay support. Missing is “Collection” view and few other features only accessible through the online service.
The full set of features, as described by Spotify community manager Andres Sehr, is below: Expand Expanding Close
A leaked image of Spotify’s official iPad app surfaced today.
Swedish technology consultant Statigram posted a purported picture of the app’s beta version on Instagram (link now redirects). The caption simply read: “It’s getting closer!”
The above screen capture depicts an iOS Twitter-like user-interface, with play options located along the bottom and a Search bar on the left side featuring icons for What’s New, Inbox, Playlists, and Friends.
Last Friday, Spotify sent invites for a special announcement in New York City for April 18, and current rumors indicate the app might unveil at the upcoming press event.
MOG is a Spotify-like service that streams 14 million songs to your devices and allows you to download music for offline viewing. The free version allows you to stream music against advertising. Meanwhile, the $4.99 version allows you to not only listen to ad-free music but also download music. The $9.99/month version allows unlimited downloads on mobile devices. Today, MOG added one new big device to its list: The iPad.
The iPad version (not universal?) hit the App Store today joining the earlier iPhone version. Perhaps, if you like your music on a native iPad-sized app, it is time to move to MOG (14-day free trial here with unlimited downloads).
Love this idea for controlling your Mac – especially for applications which don’t require you to be near your computer. Apple has lots of patents on 3D gestures so it wouldn’t be absurd to see some of this at the OS level in the not-so-distant future.
A new change for AT&T Wireless’ Unlimited Data subscribers will soon be taking place. Rumored to be starting in the first week of October, we’ve heard that AT&T will start throttling the data speeds of the network’s top data hogs. As Verizon (PDF) and Virgin have recently done, AT&T will be adopting a similar plan to try to curb the problem of data congestion and overall network issues that have hurt its 3G network’s performance since the onset of the iPhone.
AT&T will also be releasing its first LTE devices later this year.
The throttling plan will work like the others’. The heaviest users will see significant speed decreases for one billing cycle once they go over a threshold of data (we’re guessing 2-4GB?). These heavy users will still be able to access the network, but at a much slower speed. At the start of the next billing cycle, their speeds will return to normal. We don’t have numbers for AT&T’s throttle speeds but Virgin takes you down to 256Kb/s once you’ve reached their 2.5GB limit (not too bad actually – sometimes we’re happy to get 256kbs). Interestingly, Virgin’s throttle also will also be implemented in the first week of October which may indicate that they’ll be carrying a certain high profile mobile device as well.
Frankly, throttling isn’t so bad if done fairly. It is a good way to penalize heavy users but without them having to worry about overage charges. For high end users, however, it wold make sense for AT&T to add the ability to buy more regular speed data like they do now… Expand Expanding Close
We just got word that Spotify will launch tomorrow in the US (as reported last week). Perhaps something nice to put on your new Mac?
New York, July 13, 2011 – Spotfy, the award-winning digital music service loved by millions of Europeans, will become available tomorrow morning in the United States by invitation and subscription. Spotify is a new way to listen to and manage your music, discover new tracks and share songs and playlists with friends – music whenever you want it, wherever you are.
Be one of the first people in the U.S. to experience Spotify by signing up at www.spotify.com.
Spotify will announce more details at 8:00 AM EST.
The figures are in and they confirm that iTunes remains the biggest US digital music retailer, with Amazon failing to grab too much of Apple’s digital music heartland.
NPD tells us AAPL’s iTunes took 66.2% of the digital music market in the third quarter of this year – that’s up from 63.2% in Q3 2009. Easy still beats free. Expand Expanding Close
Good morning, while I apologize to our US readers as Spotify isn’t available in your area yet, for European 9to5Mac visitors news that Spotify has updated its applications for OS X, iPhone (and Windows) could be interesting.
The new version introduces the customary bug fixes, but also adds support for Mac media keys without interfering with iTunes. The new version also supports auto-play for all track links when clicked on from Twitter, Facebook, feed, etc. Existing users will see their install automatically updated in the coming days.
Google is about to change the music economy, preparing to hand over huge amounts of cash to win rights to offer the music locker service it has been trying to build for Google Music. However, confused internal politics and music licensing complexity mean Google, just like Spotify and Apple, isn’t set to launch its service before the end of the year. Expand Expanding Close
