Spotify partners with Virgin Media to stream music to UK TVs, smartphones
Spotify, the Rhapsody of Europe, may still be an unfamiliar brand stateside, but the service just inked a deal with Virgin Media to bring streaming music to Virgin's broadband customers, set-top boxes, and mobile phones in the UK. The deal will bundle Unlimited (£4.99) or Premium (£9.99) monthly Spotify tiers, at to-be-determined discounted rates, allowing new and existing subscribers to access millions of tracks from any of their compatible home and mobile devices. Open (free) Spotify customers will reportedly need to upgrade to a paid version, but only to access the service on Virgin's set-top boxes, we presume -- don't expect to see a blanket ban on all devices. Until pricing is announced, the partnership appears to be more of a win for Spotify than for customers, who will still need to pay up before rockin' out, but set-top integration is likely to be a boon with digital TV subscribers, letting them bring those infamous Euro house music raves to an actual house.
