European music service Spotify made some big waves today, as it announced support for Apple’s iPod (in addition to iPhone/Android devices), as well as a new download service that would compete directly with iTunes.
CEO Daniel Ek says on the Spotify blog, “Listening to the music you want to hear, wherever you want it, just got a whole lot simpler – and cheaper.Your playlists are special to you. You’ve spent untold hours putting together your own mix-tape masterpieces on your computer and want to take them with you, but without the trouble of having to buy each track separately, switching music players or breaking the bank? Then look no further. Spotify’s new MP3 download service makes it possible to own your playlists in one easy step. By introducing a range of MP3 bundles, we’ve been able to offer you some of the most competitive prices available – from as little as 50p per song.”
Of course the U.S. is still waiting for Spotify to make its way over here. Spotify is quite popular in Europe, but has some licensing issues to work out before it can work here. The issues have been lingering for quite some time. Ek said at SXSW last year, that there could be slight changes made to Spotify for an American release if that happens.
In recent weeks it was reported that Google was in talks with Spotify as a potential partner on its own stalled music service. It’s unclear what’s happening with that at this point, but one thing that is clear is that Google loves to compete directly with Apple.
Google has also reportedly hit some snags in the licensing department.
Spotify also launched an app for iPhone and Android to allow users to download their MP3 playlists and sync them to their phones.
