Spot the expansion

Spotify looks to get music streaming phenomenon to work on mobiles

28 May 2009 - Free music streaming site Spotify have unveiled a demo of how they want their product to work on mobile phones.

The programme currently allows users to listen to unlimited music without charge.

“What we’re trying to achieve here is getting music like water so you can access it anywhere you want, any track you want, at any time you want, at any place in the world,” said Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify.

Record companies and artists are paid through advertising on the site, which has more than a million users in the UK.

They've now posted a video on YouTube showing a demo of Spotify working on a Google Android phone.

"What we're trying to achieve here is getting music like water so you can access it anywhere."
Spotify founder

Crucially, users will be able to synchronise their phones with a Spotify account and listen to playlists offline.

It is likely this will be a subscription service and other musical devices will follow - there have been unofficial demos of Spotify working on iPhones circulating for a while.

Ek explained why they were looking into the mobile market: “One of the biggest things that our users ask us for is the ability to actually bring the music with them.

“There’s a lot of different ways that we can work with carriers and Internet Service Providers in shaping that so we can get more people to subscribe.”

Georgie Rogers