Music streaming service Spotify is taking another step forward in Asia after it officially launched in the Philippines today on mobile devices, the desktop and the Web. The service first entered Asia in April last year when it arrived in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
Spotify’s latest market launch comes after it started offering a free, shuffle-based version of its music streaming service on iOS and Android. We previously noted that the stronger push towards mobile is something that will benefit the company particularly in Asia, and it is taking aggressive moves to make sure that it appeals to users in the region — via attractive pricing and deals with carriers.
In the Philippines, Spotify Premium costs only PHP129 (~$3) a month, which greatly magnifies its potential reach. Premium version is ad-free on mobile and desktop, and includes offline playback. For comparison, a Premium subscription in the US costs $9.99 — though a recent deal for college students has seen the price lowered to $4.99. In Malaysia, it costs RM14.90 ($4.60).
To further attract users in the Philippines, Spotify has inked a deal with carrier Globe Telecom to offer all 38 million Globe Postpaid, Globe Prepaid and Tattoo-on-the-go Prepaid subscribers free access to Spotify through the telco’s new data plan, GoSURF — which would cost as low as PHP10 ($0.20) per day. The deal is rolling out on April 13.
Spotify has over 24 million active users and more than 6 million paying subscribers globally, and its aggressive moves in Asia could be a gamechanger indeed. In the Philippines, Spotify competes with Deezer, which announced a tie-up with carrier Smart just last month.
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