Spotify is set to launch in Singapore, perhaps as soon as next week. The Swedish music streaming startup has just sent out invites for an event soon in Singapore, but no further details are available at present. The Straits Times reports, that it could become available as early as the week of April 15.
This Singapore launch will mark Spotify’s debut in Asia. The premium music service has only opened up to music fans in 20 countries so far. The only area in the broader Asia-Pacific region where Spotify is available is Australia and New Zealand.
Spotify, which started in Sweden in 2008, lets users choose from millions of songs over the Internet for free or by subscription.
The basic free service gives users unlimited access to all songs but users have to listen to advertisements. Also, the songs can only be played on the computer.
The Spotify rollout might be bad news for local startup TellMyFriends, which wants to help Singaporeans make a profit from legally sharing MP3s with buddies over social media.
The paid service of Spotify – which will cost $9.90 per month – provides unlimited music streaming without advertisements. Paying customers also get to download their favourite albums and playlists to their computers and mobile phones so that the music keeps on flowing even when users are not connected to the Internet.
Spotify is HUUUUGELY popular where it’s been available for a while. Both the free and the paid service. Many users have stopped purchasing music and/or downloading legally or illegally because of it. (Unlike myself who still like to own my MP3’s, stored on a computer drive.) Good for Singapore though. Try it if you get the chance.