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Spotify launching in the US tomorrow
We just received word from Spotify's chief content officer Ken Parks that the much-loved music streaming service is finally coming to the US tomorrow. Asked about the final hurdles leading up to release, Parks told us: We were really adamant about bringing the service to the US, which means a really great, free experience. We wanted to be really careful about the way we did this, and the rights holders felt the same way. It took some time, but we're absolutely thrilled that all four major labels and a ton of indies are behind us, and we'll be bringing that Spotify experience to the US tomorrow. Parks wouldn't announce an exact time for launch, but did tell us that the service will offer three pricing plans, including the free, ad-supported version that made it such a hit in its native Europe. The executive wouldn't shed light on any particular concerns that labels may have had with the free version as previously reported either, but told us confidently that, "with each passing day, the model proves itself even more... It's a great way to engage people and get them to invest in it, and if it weren't, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation." For those who want to invest right away, the $4.99 tier gives users an ad-free experience and the $9.99 level makes it possible to use Spotify with mobile devices, including an offline caching feature. The latter version is compatible with Android and iOS devices, as well as a number of streaming media products from companies like Sonos and Logitech. The US version will be largely identical to its European counterpart and will feature access to at least part of the company's global catalog of 15 million songs. No word on the actual number of tracks in US version, but Parks promised that it would offer, "a huge catalog."
Apple survey hints at iTunes streaming video service coming soon?
At this point we're fairly certain we'll see updated iPods at Apple's event on Wednesday, but we're still in the dark when it comes to that updated iOS-based Apple TV -- we know it's in the works, but we don't know if it's coming this week. But if you're feeling optimistic, a new Apple iTunes customer survey seems to offer a tiny little hint -- it lists "Titles are available to watch instantly" as a reason you might totally love watching video on the iPad. Of course, you can't watch iTunes videos "instantly" right now -- the iPad requires the entire video file to download before playback begins, and the current Apple TV requires a fair bit of buffering -- so this could be a big hint that instant streaming is coming quite soon. On the flipside, this could just be a mistake or oversight and actually mean nothing at all, but honestly, where's the fun in that? [Thanks, PeteO]
