Spotify is opening up its closed beta for its new web player in the U.K., letting more people have access to the browser-based music streaming experience.

We first learned that Spotify was finally planning on launching a web player back in November of 2012. The player functions much like the desktop app, except it’s a bit more sparse, lacking app connections and some of the social features. It’s a barebones player that definitely gets the job done, however.

“We’re letting a number of users in the UK test out a beta version of our basic web player, which we’re gearing up to release later this year,” a Spotify spokesperson told The Next Web.

In January, Spotify axed music downloads in Europe.

The faster they roll out this web player around the world, the better Spotify is able to compete with the onslaught of streaming music competitors like Rdio, Rhapsody, and as we learned earlier this week, possibly some sort of big subscription service from Google’s YouTube. The beta expansion in the U.K. means we’re that much closer to a full launch in the U.K.

Although the web player is not technically available in the U.S. right now for most (accessing play.spotify.com simply redirects to the Spotify home page. But you can access it through what appears to be a loophole through a band’s Facebook page by clicking here.