[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFM6WQrJlVI&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
We were beginning to have our doubts about Spotify when they announced new plans to limit subscriber’s free usage. But some of the European music service’s new upgrades announced yesterday might make their U.S. debut even more interesting…whenever that might be.
This week, Spotify announced that users can now directly sync their iPods, iPhones, Androids, and/or associated apps, and can be done either via WiFi or wireless. In addition to that, Spotify has launched their own music web store/”download service.” Indivudual mp3’s are as low as 50 pence (83 cents), while bundle packages include 10 songs for 8 pounds ($13) and 100 songs for 50 pounds ($82). And to top it all off, these new upgrades are available to everyone, including those with free accounts.
There still remains one little problem: Spotify is still not available in America. Whether their new plan to limit free usage has helped negotiations with the big labels has still yet to be seen. Furthermore, it’s very likely that Mr. Steve Jobs and Apple are not too happy about Spotify’s new synchronization upgrade, and thus could make Spotify’s U.S. debut even more of a headache.
Regardless, these new upgrades could be a huge push for the service and make them and even more serious competitor with iTunes. Whether users will opt to actually purchase music through Spotify in favor of the free accounts, though, is an uncertainty. A video Spotify posted online to introduce the new upgrades can be seen up top.
[via Spotify Blog, Digital Music News, and TechCrunch]
