Whilst the industry had all but signed the deal between Spotify and mobile phone operator 3, both companies had, until now, given no clear indication on any prospective deal. However, 3 announced today that from 3rd November they are to offer their HTC Hero handset with integrated Spotify application.
Available for £35 on a 24 month contract and with a one off fee of £99, the handset will offer the normal 3 composition of texts, Skype calls and airtime, along with the Spotify application. Paying consumers will automatically become Spotify premium members, able to access the service from both their handset and home computer. 3’s director of products and services Charlotte Blanchard said “We have built this service into an attractive, well-priced package. Over time, our deal with Spotify will extend across a range of our products including mobile broadband.”
Whilst subscribers to the iPhone can already access a Spotify app but with an additional £10 monthly charge, 3’s deal will have the charge integrated into the price plan. Forrester Researcher’s vice president of research Mark Mulligan explained “This is fairly typical of the path all subscription services are following. You have to hide the cost. Over the last few years Napster and others have learned that you cannot rely on a model that requires people to pay £10 per month. Partnering with a handset maker is a way to achieve that end. It’s ironic that Nokia has invested millions to achieve the same as Spotify has now achieved by adapting its app. This can transform a service almost overnight.”
