Spotify

Last week, Apple announced a new Apple Podcasts Subscriptions platform that will launch next month, likely as part of iOS 14.6. To counter Apple’s announcement, Spotify announced today that it too will allow podcasters to offer subscriptions to their shows on its platform.

Subscribers in Europe are today being notified of a Spotify price rise. For UK users, the increase is either £1 or £2 per month, depending on the subscription type. Elsewhere in Europe, it ranges from €1 to €3.

The news coincides with the announcement of a new Spotify music player embedded into the iOS and Android Facebook app …

In April, I decided to give Spotify a try over Apple Music. As an Apple Music subscriber since day one, I always wondered how it was using Apple’s most important competitor in the music streaming war. After almost a month, I finally decided whether I’m going to stay as a Spotify subscriber or switch back to Apple Music.

The latest antitrust hearing looking into concerns about Apple and Google’s market power is underway. Along with the companies getting a grilling from the Congressional subcommittee on antitrust, representatives from Spotify, Tile, and more are testifying about how they see the two tech giants as stifling competition.

After Spotify unveiled its first hardware product on Tuesday, it’s today launching a new Top Podcasts and Trending Podcasts Charts feature. This comes as Spotify continues to ramp up its competition with Apple Podcasts.

Spotify has officially launched its new in-vehicle device, “Car Thing.” The smart player comes with support for “Hey Spotify” voice commands as well as a knob, touch screen, and preset buttons for controls. For the initial product launch, Spotify is giving out Car Thing for free to a limited group of Premium subscribers in the US.

For quite a while I’ve been thinking about switching from Apple Music to Spotify. I’ve been an Apple Music user since day one and rely on the Apple ecosystem for everything (from AirPods to HomePod and all other Apple devices), so I thought this would be a tough decision.

In April, I decided that I’d finally give Spotify a chance, and I’ve got some initial thoughts: the good, the bad, and all the surprises along the way. A couple of weeks from now, I’ll give my final opinion on whether I stick with Spotify or whether I return to Apple Music.

There’s another virtual assistant you can call using your iPhone. Starting today, you can say “Hey Spotify,” with the Spotify app opened, to start playing a song, an album, or even a playlist.

In the same way people argue about iOS over Android, the debate between Apple Music vs Spotify has also grown since 2015. As the music streaming service war starts to bring podcasts and HiFi to the battlefield, are you planning to stay with your current streaming service, or are you considering switching?

If you’ve ever thought about switching your Apple Music subscription to Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, Deezer, or the vice versa, one thing that probably made you change your mind is “how am I going to transfer all my songs from a streaming service to another?” Well, here’s the answer.

After rolling out a new update to the iOS app, Spotify is now revamping its desktop, Mac, and web apps starting today. In a blog post, Spotify says it’s rolling out a “new improved look and feel for the app for desktop and web – aligning the experience and making both easier to use than ever before.”

Apple Music is falling behind Spotify in the music streaming wars. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been using Apple Music since the day it was released in 2015, but after almost six years of its launch, I don’t think I can defend Apple for not correcting some flaws or adding features users really want.

Spotify recently launched a new original podcast about its own history, which provides details about not only how the platform was created, but also gives an overview of the music industry. Although the first two episodes talk about the challenges in fighting music piracy in the digital era, Apple’s iTunes was completely ignored by Spotify in the podcast.

A noted legal expert weighing in on the various European antitrust complaints against Apple says that if Spotify wins its case, the “App Store monopoly is finished” in Europe.

It was reported last week that the European Union is “finalizing a charge sheet against Apple” in regard to Spotify complaints. Although an interim step rather than a ruling, it would shift the burden to Apple to defend itself against the charges …

Apple’s bad day for antitrust concerns continues. European Union antitrust investigators are planning to announce the results of their investigation into Apple in the coming weeks, as reported by Reuters. This comes after the UK announced that it is opening its own investigation into the App Store earlier on Thursday.

Over the last few years, Spotify has been seriously ramping up its investment in podcasts with multiple acquisitions, building out a roster of exclusive shows, and more. Now it looks like those efforts are starting to pay off as Spotify is reportedly set to surpass Apple in monthly US podcast listenership according to a new analyst note.