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Spotify is bringing free music to phones and tablets. The Swedish music service has announced free listening, just like on a computer, for Apple and Android mobile devices.
The new free service lets you pick an artist and put their entire catalogue on shuffle, without having to create your own playlist. Like the free version on your computer, it includes adverts.
Revealed by Spotify boss Daniel Ek today in the company’s new New York office, the move was reported earlier this week with news that Spotify has inked deals with all three global licensing companies.
Spotify also announced that you can listen to Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue from today. The legendary band has previously been one of the massive names holding out on digital streaming. With hold-outs Pink Floyd and Metallica also latterly converted to Spotify, the Beatles and AC/DC are among the last bands standing in opposition to streaming.
Spotify is free with adverts, £4.99 without adverts, and £9.99 for the full premium experience across all types of devices. Up to now, you could only listen to Spotify on the go if you fork out a tenner for the premium account, which remains the only way to cache songs and playlists on your phone to listen without an Internet connection.
With 20 million active users world-wide, Spotify is one of the leading lights in the increasingly crowded music streaming space. Rivals include Bloom.fm, Rdio, iTunes Radio, Nokia Music and others, with headphone company Beats launching its own service Beats Music in January. Meanwhile Spotify has been controversial for its business model, prompting the company to finally reveal its payments to artists.
Is Spotify well worth a tenner a month? Where do you get your music these days? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or sing us a song on our Facebook page.
