Australia's Vodafone subscribers will soon have access to Spotify Premium, the popular music streaming service that features more than 20 million digital music tracks with 40 million active users and 10 million paid subscribers globally. The partnership between Vodafone and Spotify which was announced earlier this week will be seeing the world's biggest music streaming service reaching thousands of Australians on their mobile devices.
The tie-up between content providers and mobile operators enables major content labels to leverage the rise in data subscriptions around the world to drive the takeup on their digital services. Services such as audio streaming and online movie channels are already available on subscription models however, by partnering with mobile operators or service providers on exclusive deals, these services are bundled in mobile data packages, which in turn helps these brands to expand their market reach while increasing the service providers' value proposition. A standalone Spotify Premium account currently costs AUD11.99 a month.
According to a statement by both companies, Australians who are increasingly using their mobile devices to listen to music will benefit from the partnership which will enable them to stream, find, and share music, on demand, on any device, completely ad-free. In fact, users can also stream and listen to the music offline, which means that they will continue having access to selected tracks even in places without data coverage. The statement cited a report from Roy Morgan research that said that at present, there are 1.65 million Australians streaming music on their mobile devices. Given the widespread coverage of 4G network and the wide selection of music available on Spotify Premium, this number is expected to swell as more Vodafone customers start accessing the music service. Vodafone post-paid and pre-paid subscribers can both look forward for an announcement on the new service in coming weeks.
Vodafone’s 4G network is set to reach 95 per cent of Australia’s metropolitan population by the end of the year and we want to give our customers the best possible 4G experience. Our partnership with Spotify really brings our 4G network to life. With our great value plans and generous data allowances, our customers will be able to make the most of Spotify Premium, which offers the ability to stream, find, and share music, on demand, on any device, completely ad-free. The smartphone is Australia’s most popular device for listening to music.
While Australians have long associated music with MP3s and CDs, faster data speeds and the explosion of smartphones has led to Australians opting for mobile phones when it comes to music.
- Stephen Smyth, General Manager of Postpaid, Vodafone
