Spotify: “We want to be on every platform”
The music streaming giant isn't stopping at smartphones, Bluetooth speakers and cars – it wants to be on our wrists and faces too
Spotify’s marking its fifth birthday with BBC Playlister app integration.
That means you can export playlists of music from Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show, Later.. with Jools Holland and er, The Voice straight to the streaming service from the BBC with a discovery zone within Spotify itself. But, as ever, the streaming music service has one eye on new apps and platforms.
There’s no timeframe on when Spotify’s desktop apps, launched at the end of 2011 and with BBC Playlister now joining the likes of Soundrop and Picthfork, will make the leap to mobile. But Chris Maples, VP for Europe says that while some people put time aside at home to discover new music, some people do it on the go: “We’re conscious that Spotify has to reflect those different habits and we’re looking to develop BBC Playlister through all platforms.”
So, fingers crossed Spotify Premium users who fork out for a monthly sub will get a fully featured smartphone and tablet app in the near future.
‘Cars, wearables, chipsets in your head’
What’s next for the reigning Swedes then? Owen Smith, a product owner at Spotify, says most of the apps and features that the Spotify ‘community’ requests, they’re already working on. But while almost any Spotify employees can submit ideas for new platforms, whether or not it happens depends on the cold, hard data.
“We could say let’s build an app for this nascent mobile platform that’s being developed in Taiwan – that has four users. That might not happen,” Smith says. “But this other platform, for example, is exploding so let’s build an app for that definitely. We want to be on every platform, it’s just a matter of priorities.” Like Google Glass? Smith says it’s been requested by Spotify users.
And while there’s no confirmation of Spotify apps for Glass or smartwatches like the Galaxy Gear, it’s all about mobile. Spotify is already one of Ford’s partners on its in-car AppLink platform, which uses your smartphone instead of a fancy dashboard system. “Mobile devices have two year life spans and car manufacturers have three year lead times. I think this is where it’s headed for car manufacturers. A lot of this is going towards using mobile, wearables, chipsets in your head..”
Spotify, if you want to build an app for a chip in our brain – take us, we’re yours.
Sophie Charara
Stuff contributor 
