9:59am UK, Monday September 07, 2009
The man who helped pioneer free music streaming on the web tells Sky News why users will pay to play songs on their phone in an exclusive interview.
Ek: 'Users can get the best of both online and offline worlds'
Daniel Ek, the founder and CEO of Spotify, spoke to Sky News Online on the eve of the launch of a paid-for iPhone application.
More than six million music tracks are now available on handsets, as the music streaming service arrives on Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and Google Android.
The Swedish company became an online sensation earlier this year when it let users have free access to one of the largest music libraries in the world.
The launch means premium customers of the service, who pay £9.99 a month, are now able to listen to music, wherever they are.
Although Apple has agreed to music applications from Lastfm, Deezer and Pandora, there were doubts over they would approve the Spotify App amid concerns it directly competes with their iTunes Store.
Mr Ek said all sides were happy with the commercial arrangement they have reached.
"Both Apple and Google have a strong application that will drive more people to use their respective operating systems and hopefully more people will buy new devices as well," he added.
He hopes that expanding Spotify onto mobile phones will ultimately mean more cash for the ailing music industry - something he hoped to achieve with his business.
"I look at this as a win-win in the sense that we're talking about paid-for music, so it can only be a good thing," he said.
Mr Ek believes the service reinvents the way people enjoy portable music.
"The new apps for Apple and Google phones mean our users can get the best of both the online and offline worlds, making it even easier for them to listen to all the world's music, anywhere on the planet," he said.
He gave Sky News a preview of the applications, which are free to download from the Apple App Store or Google Android Market.
He said: "What you can do is search for any track you want or any artist you want.
"For example, you can see all tracks by Madonna, which albums she has, which artists match her. You can press any track and it starts playing instantly.
"You also have playlists, which can be stored on your phone, so they also work on the Tube or anywhere that you can't get reception."
The application can store up to 3,333 tracks for offline play, and these can be updated whenever there is access to the internet, Mr Ek said.
How it looks on Google Android
"You can use Spotify on your computer to say what you'd like available offline on your mobile, then the next time it fires up the tracks automatically sync across," he said.
He argues that the sound quality of tracks is better than the default available from Apple iTunes tracks played on iPhones or iPods.
"People with portable headphones won't be able to tell the difference between these tracks and a CD," he said.
"All our tracks available on mobile phones play at 160kbps Ogg Vorbis audio - higher quality than most MP3s."
Ben Camm-Jones, news editor at Web User Magazine, said Spotify's expansion into the mobile world would be popular - if the cost is not an obstacle.
He said: "You pay a tenner a month and get unlimited music. It is something that will benefit music fans greatly, if they're prepared to pay that money for it.
Mr Camm-Jones said that some people will resist paying as they may already have their own extensive music collection.
"So forking out might not be what they want to do," he said. "The success of it all really depends on whether people resent paying that £10 a month or not."
Spotify has more than five million users across the UK, Sweden, Spain, France, Norway and Finland and hopes to launch in many more territories, including all of Europe and the US, by the end of the year.
"The main thing has been resources. We're still a very young company. Right now we're about 80 people," Mr Ek said.
"When we started here in the UK at the beginning of the year we were around 35-40, so we've grown to twice the size.
"You know - we can only do so much in a period of months."
:: The application is available in Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market. Visit the Spotify blog for more information.
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