Spotify Makes U.S. Debut With Paid Plans and Invite-Only Free Service
Streaming music firm Spotify today announced the immediate launch of its beta phase offerings in the United States, debuting as an invitation-only free service paired with two different paid tiers: Unlimited at $4.99/month and Premium at $9.99/month.
The Spotify app for iPhone [App Store] is also now live in the U.S. App Store, and a subscription to the Premium service is required for mobile device access.
During our invite-only beta phase, we'll be offering three great services - from absolutely free to paid subscriptions. The services we're launching today are:
- Spotify Free - the unsurpassed free music service. With an invite, enjoy on-demand, buffer-free access to over 15 million songs on your computer and great social features. Manage your own music files through Spotify, and sync with your cellphone or iPod. Features occasional advertising.
- Spotify Unlimited - all the special features of our free service, but with uninterrupted, ad-free access to Spotify on your computer. All for only $4.99 a month.
- Spotify Premium - the top-of-the-range Spotify experience. Premium gives you access to all the music, all the time. Listen online or offline, on your computer, your cellphone and a whole heap of other devices. Enjoy enhanced sound quality and access to exclusive content, competitions and special offers. Premium costs just $9.99 a month. (That's the equivalent of a couple of fancy coffees.)
Spotify's free service is debuting in the U.S. with exclusive ad partners Coca-Cola/Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok and Sonos, who are said to be developing specific and innovative ad campaigns for the platform.
Spotify has seen a fair amount of success in Europe, but the service's much-anticipated U.S. launch has been delayed several times as the company sought to acquire approvals from the major record labels. Those pieces began falling into place over the past few weeks, enabling Spotify to finally bring its offerings to the United States.
Popular Stories
Sunday September 25, 2022 2:27 pm PDT by
Sami FathiA YouTuber has put Apple's claims for the durability of the Apple Watch Ultra to the test by putting it up against a drop test, a jar of nails, and repeated hits with a hammer to test the sapphire crystal protecting the display.
TechRax, a channel popular for testing the durability of products, first tested the Apple Watch Ultra by dropping it from around four feet high. The Apple Watch...
Sunday September 25, 2022 10:57 am PDT by
Sami FathiAs we approach the end of a busy product release season for Apple with only new iPads and Macs left to be announced over the next month or so, we're also setting our sights on 2023. Apple is rumored to have several major products in the pipeline for next year, including new Macs, a new HomePod, a VR/AR headset, and so much more.
Other than new iPhones and Apple Watches, which are expected...
An Apple Watch Ultra user has modified their new device's casing to add a brushed finish and remove the orange color of the Action Button in an effort to make it more visually appealing.
The Apple Watch Ultra offers the first complete redesign of the Apple Watch since the product line's announcement in 2014, and while the design has been met with praise from many users, some have criticized...
Monday September 26, 2022 7:34 am PDT by
Sami FathiToday marks exactly two weeks since Apple released iOS 16 to the public. Besides the personalized Lock Screen, major changes in Messages, and new features in Maps, the update has also seen its fair share of bugs, performance problems, battery drain, and more.
After major iOS updates, it's normal for some users to report having issues with the new update, but such reports usually subside in...
Earlier this month, Apple announced that iOS 16.1 will enable a new Live Activities feature that allows iPhone users to stay on top of things that are happening in real time, such as a sports game or a food delivery order, right from the Lock Screen. On the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, Live Activities also integrate with the Dynamic Island.
Premier League match in Dynamic Island via Paul Bradford ...
Monday September 26, 2022 6:23 am PDT by
Sami FathiiPhone 14 Pro customers on the Verizon network in the U.S. are reporting issues with slow and unreliable 5G cellular connections and calls randomly dropping.
Several threads on Reddit (1,2,3) and the MacRumors forums chronicle issues faced by Verizon customers and Apple's latest iPhone. According to user reports, signal strength on the iPhone 14 Pro is unreliable and weak, while other...
Sunday September 25, 2022 6:50 am PDT by
Sami FathiApple may decide to release its remaining products for 2022, which include updated iPad Pro, Mac mini, and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, through press releases on its website rather than a digital event, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is currently "likely to release its remaining 2022 products via press releases,...
The most recent beta of iPadOS 16.1 expands the controversial Stage Manager feature to older iPads, allowing it to work with iPad Pro models that have an A12X or A12Z chip, according to information Apple provided to Engadget.
The beta also removes the external display support from Stage Manager for the current time, with the feature set to return in a later iPadOS 16 update. Apple's...
Apple today released new betas of iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 to developers, tweaking some of the functionality that's been introduced in prior betas and in the case of iPadOS 16.1, adding a major new feature to Stage Manager.
We've rounded up everything new in both betas below.
Wallpaper Updates
Apple has updated the Wallpaper section of the Settings app to allow users to swap between...
Apple Watch Ultra has been endorsed by American musician and famous watch collector John Mayer, who has been showing off the new device on his Instagram account.
"Been wearing the Apple Watch Ultra for a week... and it's great," writes Mayer over a photo of the watch. "The first Apple Watch that excited me as a mechanical watch collector." "It's loaded with capability and what I call...
Top Rated Comments
Just because a paid music sevice that isn't offered by Apple doesn't mean it's destined for failure.
Here are a couple of invites for you.
dNPNX7HV5u4rXX8U
eWkmdUCVx6xMmudG
d64Tc5nGVtE7h5kg
ezu7H3y7E3dd9z3H
ea7RTPkgpFe6Gtdq
cuzHX3AyYZSpXUSR
aCdtdDZDSk2xJMZW
a4YCepc7NbAhRKzt
eNhLxbPwTgxGDXdg
aZqepzTmhfrCLcNM
frGqK7C7EJeP9sre
cc4wFtquHBg5RzKG
aFypgNJfPZzVFNyh
byNzws2qgLEkqGE5
eGLVKE35cTnrJd9Z
bBwC2rxyJKDDzBDY
brCkpXxwKg2kdAHb
aJZtEExhYgycw2Bw
erXNcce6pV4gZhVK
bRhuEkukYFfKXbfP
eyXsEfcV3zGGJJ6h
dr6yZ5P4wA2S25D3
fq2kLGk26aV4t77r
fgw35KuupwZcAr6V
d6ANU4dfwfkH7ph3
cDrcNNBT2xWe2AYb
c7tuTx9nNueMVRYN
dBZZ7TcZEwBpDXAt
d9VMXENbDdMNura9
dJsUNFrgbfTdB3T8
dF8NWdDwUw6d5wbN
e6SsBaZFXy4eH3cU
eYq5sfUhquRedU8B
aSz73mPDB2JTwz3S
cPd49L32VSPqFLXP
cRrPx8URqTRydwAM
It will be in the app store! It's in the Dutch app store! Plus the difference between Spotify and Grooveshark is that Spotify actually has deals with the record companies and Grooveshark doesn't! That's why Grooveshark isn't in the App Store, because of complaints of the record labels ;)
And with Premium you can listen offline (save music, which is pretty handy on your phone) and the music is in higher quality :)