Spotify is a commercial music streaming service providing DRM-protected content from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had approximately 10 million users as of 15 September 2010 (2010-09-15), about 2.5 million of whom were paying users. Total users reached 20 million by December 2012, five million of whom pay a monthly subscription fee that varies based on locale.
The system is currently available using Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Telia Digital-tv, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, S60 (Symbian), webOS, Samsung Smart TV, Squeezebox, Boxee, Sonos, WD TV, Roku, MeeGo, and TiVo. Spotify is not available in the Windows Store for Windows 8.
Music can be browsed by artist, album, record label, genre or playlist as well as by direct searches. On desktop clients, a link allows the listener to purchase selected material via partner retailers.
A six-month free trial period is activated upon Spotify account registration or first login with a Facebook account, where a user can listen to an unlimited amount of music supported by visual and radio-style advertising. After the trial, Spotify has a listening limit of 10 hours per month, divided into a 2.5 hour streaming allocation each week (with any unused hours carrying over to the next week). The only countries exempt from this rule are the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, where ad-supported unlimited streaming continues on Spotify Free after 6 months. An "Unlimited" subscription removes advertisements and time limits and a "Premium" subscription introduces extra features such as higher bitrate streaming, offline access to music and mobile app access. Users can try Spotify Premium for 48 hours by logging into Spotify Mobile for the first time, or get a 30-day trial for their first month. An active Facebook account is required to use Spotify if the user has signed up using Facebook, but as of 30 August 2012 the option to make a Spotify username has been reintroduced. Subscriptions are restricted to people with credit/debit cards or PayPal accounts registered in certain countries.
Read more about Spotify: History, Technical Information, Revenue Model, Criticism, Geographic Availability, Accounts and Subscriptions