Further to the news that Spotify will be offering downloads through 7Digital, details of a new all-you-can-listen subscription download model are emerging.
According to Revolution magazine, Spotify will be offering users unlimited downloads for £9.99 a month, the price it currently charges for the ad-free version of the service.
In a threat to the dominant player iTunes, there are also plans to extend this download service to mobile, allowing users to listen to tracks and playlists. There are as yet no details of any DRM that may be involved to limit use of the downloads to active subscribers of the proposed service.
The UK already has Nokia’s Comes with Music service which provides unlimited music downloads for 12 or 18 months, all included in the cost of the handset. However, reports in the media suggest this offer has failed to gain real traction yet with only 23,000 reported subscribers by April from its launch last year.
Spotify looks set to press ahead with its mix of models, from ad-supported, to ad-free subscriptions, to individual downloads and now this model of downloads subscription to find the best mix to monetise its service. Mobile and computer subscriptions will be a significant and welcome addition.
Update: Paid Content are claiming that Spotify won’t be offering this service with a quote from an unnamed Spotify figure denying Revolution’s story: “something we could never support or achieve. It’s just not sustainable and our focus is on access, not ownership, as we’ve always said”. So, who’s right? It’s too early to say for as yet unreleased service, but certainly the optimum balance of subscriptions and mobile remain on the agenda for Spotify.
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