Popular music streaming service Spotify announced a “major evolution” this morning which will allow users to integrate their music preferences with social networking on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Spotify version 0.4.3 is the largest feature upgrade since the site’s launch in late 2008, and it puts the Swedish company into direct competition with Apple’s iTunes.
Users can now to publish playlists, top artists and top tracks for public view on their Spotify music profile, and then import their friends’ profiles from Facebook.
The site has also added a ‘Library’ folder, which lets users add their own music to the site and combine it with tracks already available from Spotify.
Since launching 18 months ago, Spotify has gained an estimated 7 million followers, while its collection boasts more than 8 million tracks. Revenues come from charge for premium services and paid advertisements, which run for 30 seconds every half an hour. With the new developments, the company is hoping to raise awareness of its service and significantly increase its user base.
By Deirdre Nolan
