The first app to take advantage of Spotify’s move to allow third-party app support to its mobile APIs has been made available on the iTunes store. SpotON Radio has been launched as a free app initially, although it may shift to a $2 asking price after its launch window. To access Spotify’s music library users must hold a Spotify Premium membership ($10/month) to use it.
Users of the new app, with the requisite Spotify premium membership, are able to access over 15 million tracks as long as they have an iPod touch or iPhone (iPad and even desktop support is a possibility). The app offers users the ability to create personalized radio stations, like and dislike songs and easily share music with friends – users can also export a station’s entire history as a playlist. The app permits iCloud users to sync their preferred stations between devices. When on Wi-Fi, users can enjoy music streaming at 320kbps, but to conserve a user’s mobile data, will slow the bit rate to 96kbps over 3G or 4G.
The company behind SpotON Radio, Swedish Application Development, explains that although the app works with Spotify, it is not associated with it. ‘We’re lone gunmen,’ its site states, ‘fighting the fight for a better interface to music, packaged as the most beautiful user experience possible.’
Although Spotify is has been rapidly adding users in the US and in Europe, it has been facing challenges in selling the benefits of the service to labels and artists, a number of whom have pulled their music from the site. Spotify denied that it was underpaying artists for their music, which is ‘sold’ either through a free, but ad-supported subscription, or the paid ad-free premium service.
