My posts from a few months ago were pushing for Spotify to get their service mobile. Now with the announcement that Apple have (quite surprisingly) given the thumbs up to the Spotify iPhone app & todays release of the smartphone app, I thought I would also add my thumbs up to what could be the strongest argument for the business model so far.
The app is only going to be available to those who have signed up to the premium service, charged at £9.99 a month. Prior to the apps launch that monthly fee meant you avoided interruptions from Jonathan or any of the insightful tit bits from the idiots who have decided to call Spotify’s voicemail. It also occasionally got you access to musical content a little earlier than the non premium user. Not great value for money, unless you .
However, one watch of this promo for the iPhone app should be enough to get you excited (if you like music that is).
Offline access to your playlists, streaming available via 3G as well as wi-fi and all the search functionality of its desktop equivalent. It’s looking like a great little package that I believe could become the most profitable app in the iTunes store so far. Are you sure you’ve not shot yourself in the foot here Apple?
No, this will drive smart phone sales once established as cloud content becomes widely accepted. The worry of not being able to play the music on an iPod will disappear and the mass market will turn to mobile devices that support the cloud content they use on their computers. Had Apple turned down the Spotify app, it would have left the Google Android platform to be the sole mobile OS offering Spotifys mobile application, resulting in Google having a great argument for choosing Android over the iPhone. Now that would have been Apple shooting itself in the foot!
