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Spotify is mad at the French government and taking it out on users
Spotify said on Thursday it will raise its subscription prices in France in response to a new tax designed to support the nation’s music industry. CEO Daniel Ek wrote an open letter denouncing the tax, which France’s government passed in December.
Spotify is testing AI-generated playlists
Spotify is testing an AI-powered feature that creates playlists from text prompts. The feature takes a short description and turns it into playlists.
Spotify is laying off 1,500 employees, who will be notified later today
In a pre-holiday shocker, Spotify is laying off 17 percent of its workforce across the company.
Spotify is testing an 'offline mix' that downloads recently played songs
Spotify is testing a feature called "Your Offline Mix" that will "save a mix of your recently played songs.
Spotify reaches 205 million Premium subscribers as losses mount
Spotify just released its Q4 earnings and announced that it now has 205 million premium subscribers, up 10 million from last quarter.
Spotify is laying off 6 percent of employees
Spotify is laying off 6 percent of its workforce as part of a company-wide restructuring, CEO Daniel Ek wrote in a message to employees.
Spotify CEO apologizes to staff, but won’t back down over Joe Rogan stance
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has apologized to staff for the backlash over Joe Rogan's podcasts, but won't remove Rogan or misinformation.
In the Joe Rogan debate, Spotify is acting like a spectator rather than a player
As Spotify weathers backlash from the Joe Rogan dustup, it's clear the company is uninterested in the responsibility that comes with publishing controversial content.
Spotify's 'Science VS' podcast will only fact-check misinformation being spread on Spotify
The show's host and editor said Spotify's support of Joe Rogan 'felt like a slap in the face.'
Spotify added more paying customers than free ones last quarter
Spotify saw seven million users start paying for Premium.
Spotify is the star of Netflix's latest series
While we wait for Aaron Sorkin to pen a sequel to The Social Network, Netflix hopes to tide people over with a story about another tech startup gone global. On Wednesday, the company announced it's making a new original series based on Spotify and its co-founders Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.
Spotify adds 8 million paying customers in three months
In the three months since Spotify crested the 100 million Premium user mark, the company has added another 8 million paying customers. It's another sign of health from a music streaming service that continues to grow in the face of tough and well-heeled competition. In its second-quarter earnings, Spotify said that its overall membership grew from 217 million last quarter to 232 million now.
Recommended Reading: The end of 'Game of Thrones'
'Game of Thrones' season 8 showrunners interview: 'This is where the story ends' James Hibberd, Entertainment Weekly Winter is here. HBO's powerhouse Game of Thrones returns for its final season this weekend, signaling the beginning of the end (at least for now) of the stories of Westeros. Entertainment Weekly sat down with the showrunners for season 8, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who are also the masterminds behind much of the show's narrative arc. The pair promises they'll be in an "undisclosed location" when the final episode airs, "turning off our phones and opening various bottles."
Spotify says iPad app is 'in the works'
Spotify held an event in New York this week to make a "special announcement," and unfortunately, it wasn't about anything having to do with the streaming music service's long awaited iPad app. It was, instead, about some deal that they're making with Coke, which will start off as some sort of branded apps. Anyway, nobody really cares about all of that (or at least, it's up to Spotify and Coke to make people care -- the marketing budget probably has plenty of money slated in it for just that reason). Nope the thing everyone wanted to know about was the iPad app, and founder Daniel Ek confirmed that it is still "in the works." Unfortunately, that's all he said about that. Spotify actually won our 2011 choice award for best music app on the iPhone, so it's not too surprising that we can't wait to see the iPad version. Hopefully it'll be along soon.
Spotify's got a 'special announcement' coming next week
Looks like Spotify's not done with its big news. Two days after launching the new Play Button, and a day after getting entirely too excited about adding the Red Hot Chili Peppers to its catalog, the music streamer sent out invites for an event in New York City featuring the company's CEO, Daniel Ek on center stage. Oh yeah, and we'll be there too, of course.
Spotify launches music download service with iPod sync, puts iTunes on notice
Look out iTunes, Spotify has just launched its new music download service in Europe. What's more, the company that had been synonymous with music streaming will let you sync your downloaded MP3 playlist bundles to your USB-connected iPod classic, nano, or shuffle via a new "Devices" section of the Spotify app running on your computer. And listen up freeloaders, Spotify Mobile iOS and Android app users can now sync playlists wirelessly without a premium subscription (after purchasing the tracks, naturally). Here's a quote from Daniel Ek, Spotify CEO, sure to create some angst in Cupertino: "From today, Spotify really is the only music player you'll ever need. Our users don't want to have to switch between music players, but they do want to take their playlists with them wherever they go, on a wider range of devices, more simply and at a price they can afford. Now we've made that possible on one of the world's most popular consumer devices." Here's the dealio on Spotify's download prices for its nine million users of the free service (not premium subscribers): 10 tracks for €9.99 or €1.00 per track (£7.99 or just under 80p per track) 15 tracks for €12.99 or €0.87 per track (£9.99 / 67p) 40 tracks for €30.00 or €0.75 per track (£25 / 63p) 100 tracks for €60.00 or €0.60 per track (£50 / 50p) All the new features will begin rolling out today as part of an automatic update. See the full press release after the break as well as a quick introduction video to get you started.
Spotify still planning to launch in the US... sometime
Wondering about the state of Spotify in the United States? You're not the only one, and Spotify CEO and co-found Daniel Ek was once again asked that key question at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference today. His response? The company does indeed still plan to launch the music streaming service in the US, but it can't say when it will happen -- he did confirm, however, that it will cost $10 a month. Ek further explained that the reason for the delay is due to the nature of the service, which requires "complex deals" with recording companies -- there apparently wasn't any mention of any other potential complicating factors.
