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Spotify Wins iPhone App Store Approval

Posted by timothy on from the there's-a-cream-for-that dept.

angry tapir writes "Apple has approved a streaming music application from Spotify for use on the iPhone, even though the program will compete with Apple's own iTunes service. Spotify is an advertising-supported music service that lets end-users stream music to their computers free of charge. The service is available in the U.K. and by invitation in countries including Sweden, Norway, Finland, France and Spain. Users can opt to pay for a version of the service without ads." The BBC also has a story on the app's acceptance.

12 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. And... by El+Lobo · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The fact that this is news is simply sad.

    Image the news: MS approved Firefox on Windows...

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    1. Re:And... by gsslay · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's not what makes this news. The fact it is competing with iTunes is simply a side issue.

      What's significant is that this makes the iPhone a mobile streaming device, with access to a massive library of music. It is not an online radio station. It is having a practically unlimited choice of music available to you, anywhere. For free.

    2. Re:And... by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That really isn't what the story is about, though. Maybe Spotify is great, but "Spotify released for another platform" isn't that exciting and probably wouldn't end up posted on Slashdot, if there weren't some reason that it being released for the iPhone was surprising or at some point in doubt.

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    3. Re:And... by tres · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Personally, I think the story here is that Apple has done a 180 with this app & hope that this is a sign of things to come.

      The app approval process is just broken. Way back when, Steve Jobs said that there would be limitations to the applications that would be available on the store and I can understand the reasoning as it started out; however, as of late, it's just arbitrary and capricious. It's becoming simply untenable as a development platform because the combination of seemingly arbitrary and conflicting decisions for rejection combined with the ultra slow-motion with which decisions are made -- not to mention that there is zero visibility into the approval process.

      I can't run a business like that; I need to have some expectation that I'll see ROI in a reasonable time period and that Apple will act in an equitable manner regarding application submissions. My hope is that Apple is catching on to the fact that they will lose me and plenty of other developers if they don't turn the corner on the disaster that the app review process has become.

      But maybe that's just wishful thinking as I head toward week 4 of waiting for my app to be approved... While developer.apple.com flaunts this in my face:

      Based on the current volume of app submissions, 95% of applications are being approved within 14 days.

      All while Facebook's new app gets approval in about five days...

      Thanks.

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  2. NOTE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Before someone starts comparing Spotify to Pandora or Last.fm _again_, it's something different. In Spotify you choose the songs you listen to, create playlists out of them, listen to whole albums from start to finish, or even listen to a single track in endless repeat if you so choose. It's not a personal Internet radio station, it's a huge music library that you can only listen to by streaming.

  3. Impressed by Spotify, but Apple? by Rog7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think it's a great move and a well made app & service like this can only help Apple.

    Unfortunately, I've got the distinct impression that Apple approved this app because it was poised to give them a lot of bad press if they didn't approve it. Maybe if their track record for app approval was a bit better, I'd be throwing kudos Apple's way, but at this point I'm pretty jaded.

    I find lately that I'm quite glad Apple never gained the top spot in the personal computer market, because I dread what sort of control they would impose over my PC. Yeah the alternatives haven't been great, but seeing what they've done with a market where they do have significant share, I shudder thinking about what it would have been like.

    All of the credit should go to Spotify itself. I'd really like to see it brought to North America and specifically Canada, where I can use it. It's really spectacular and more of the revolution in music listening than anything we've seen in a long while.

    1. Re:Impressed by Spotify, but Apple? by mdwh2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I mean, after all, they've sold/given away over a billion apps and have approved over 65,000 apps, but hey, their track record for app approval should be a bit better, right?

      Yes, let's compare them to other platforms.

      *checks*

      Oh wait, there isn't any data for how many apps are approved for other platforms, because you don't have to in the first place.

      The issue isn't how many they have approved - whether it's 100, 10,000, or 100 billion. The issue is that they can - and do - refuse to approve an application. If a desktop platform said you couldn't run Firefox, pleading "But they've approved 65,000 other applications" is beside the point.

      But, yeah, let's continue hating on Apple because that's the cool thing geeks do now.

      Not here on Slashdot. And I see you make the Japan-fallacy again - that anyone who doesn't praise Apple must be doing so out of irrational hatred.

  4. Not quite the game changer it appears by onion2k · · Score: 3, Informative

    There are two caveats that limit the appeal of this...

    1. You have to be a Premium Account holder ... that's £10/month.

    2. (Apparently) it'll only work with a wifi connection, not 3G.

    The wifi-only bit is the killer. Everywhere I use wifi I have a computer (office, home, girlfriend's home). That means it's not very useful, and as it's not very useful I don't see the point in buying the £10/month subscription in order to use it. If I wanted the Premium service I'd already have paid for it to use with the computers.

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    http://twitter.com/onion2k
    1. Re:Not quite the game changer it appears by twoshortplanks · · Score: 4, Informative

      The iPhone app can cache up to 2000 songs for offline play. See http://www.spotify.com/blog/archives/2009/07/27/spotify-for-iphone/

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      -- Sorry, I can't think of anything funny to say here.
    2. Re:Not quite the game changer it appears by Cesa · · Score: 5, Informative

      2. (Apparently) it'll only work with a wifi connection, not 3G.

      That is incorrect, Daniel Ek confirmed on twitter that it will work over 2G/3G. Question Response

  5. So, can I complain? by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seems like whenever an story about Hulu/etc somes on all the non-USians come to complain about that.

    So can I complain about it not being offered here in the states and how that's so unfair so I'll just download the stuff instead of pay for it?

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    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  6. N900 by pm_rat_poison · · Score: 4, Insightful

    With the Nokia N900, the Palm Pre and an army of android phones waiting around the corner, maybe dear apple understands they're not so special any more! They can't afford being so hoity-toity with three (android, maemo, webos) fully functional multitasking OS's breathing down their necks