Ever since its inception all those years ago, Spotify has focused solely on software. Soon, however, its attention will shift to hardware for the first time. Today Spotify revealed a new device it's simply calling "Car Thing," and it hopes to use it to learn about subscribers' listening habits while they're on the road.
Google is notorious for having a messy messaging platform strategy but its entertainment ecosystem is not any better. It once rallied music, moves, books, and news under a single "Google Play" banner but then probably realized that YouTube is a stronger brand. It has recently decided to eventually sunset Google Play Music in favor of YouTube Music but there has barely been any movement on that front until now. And it's quite a tiny move at that.
Spotify shared its first round of quarterly financial results for its 2019 fiscal year today, and it announced that total subscribers have passed a major milestone. Spotify now has 100 million paying members, which is a significant jump from the same quarter a year ago, when Premium subscribers topped out at 75 million. So, over the course of a year, Spotify has added 25 million subscribers, which isn't bad when you consider that Apple Music and YouTube Music have been trying really hard to pull Spotify's members away.
It's become clear to me that Kanye West is a cult leader. This is my opinion, and this entire article is not necessarily the opinion of SlashGear - but I think it's pretty obvious. Kanye West, as always an entertainment genius and serial entrepreneur, found a way to turn his fans into followers, and his followers into worshipers. He may as well don a pair of aviator glasses and a clerical collar, because he's Jim Jones right about now.
Last week, Amazon rolled out a free, ad-supported version of Amazon Music for Alexa device owners, and now it seems that was merely one part of a major music streaming expansion for the company. A new rumor today is claiming that Amazon will soon launch a more expensive subscription that will offer high fidelity streaming. That would put Amazon in a better position to compete with TIDAL and Deezer, while potentially giving it a leg up on its two biggest competitors: Spotify and Apple.
Amazon has announced that Amazon Music is now free to access without an Unlimited subscription or Prime membership via Alexa-enabled devices. Users will get free access to playlists and other content, but the service will be supported with advertisements. The news comes alongside YouTube Music's free ad-supported arrival on Google Home speakers.
Google Home owners can now use the smart speaker to stream audio from YouTube Music for free. This provides those customers with music streaming on Google Home straight out of the box, but there is a catch: the free service is subsidized by the presence of advertisements. Google Home users will need to setup the speaker to use YouTube Music before they can use the new perk, however.
Amazon plans to launch a free ad-supported music service, according to a new report. The alleged service will take on Spotify and other streaming music competitors who already offer free music options to subscribers. Key to the new service -- assuming it actually launches -- will be Amazon's hardware products, specifically the Echo smart speaker models.
Amazon's Echo Link Amp is finally available, giving audiophiles who want Alexa control for their music but with the option to use high-end speakers, a better way to listen. Announced last year amid Amazon's huge splash of Alexa-powered products, the Echo Link Amp acts as a bridge between pro-audio and streaming sources.
For years now, Spotify has been the global leader in the streaming music industry, with Apple Music quickly rising to second place in the years since its debut. However, within the US, Apple has now claimed the top spot, earning more paid subscribers than Spotify.
Those of you still holding onto a Google Play Music subscription might want to prepare to jump to YouTube Music. It's been clear since YouTube Music launched that the company planned to move away from Google Play Music, and it's gotten the ball rolling on that front today. Google has sent out an email to artists hosted on the service to tell them that the Google Play Artist Hub will be shutting down at the end of this month.
Apple has cut the price of HomePod, its Siri-powered smart speaker, dropping it below $300. Launched in February last year, HomePod was Apple's response to smart speaker rivals like Google Home and Amazon Echo, as well as more traditional multi-room speakers from Sonos.