In August 2018, Spotify became Samsung’s go-to streaming music service provider following a strategic partnership between the two companies that initially focused on bringing Spotify to Samsung Smart TVs and a deeper connection with Samsung’s assistant technology, Bixby. Today, timed alongside the retail launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S10, the companies are expanding their partnership to make Spotify a pre-installed application on a range of Samsung devices, including the new Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e, S10 5G, as well as the Galaxy Fold and some of Samsung’s lower mid-range Galaxy A devices.
In addition, U.S. consumers buying the new Galaxy S10 will qualify for six months of free Spotify Premium access if they’re new customers, Spotify said.
The two companies had not offered many more details about their partnership plans since the announcement last year, saying only that a lot of discussions were taking place as to what’s next. However, a move to pre-install Spotify on Samsung phones was likely under consideration from day one – especially after the 2016 failure of Samsung’s own Milk Music streaming service, which meant it no longer had its own direct answer to Apple Music.
At the time of Milk Music’s closure, Samsung said it would shift to investing in a partner model for integrating the “best” music services on to its Galaxy family of devices. Later picking Spotify as the strategic partner made sense, as it’s a clear frontrunner in the space and one that’s not operated by a tech giant like Google’s YouTube Music/Google Play Music, Apple Music, or Amazon Music.
The Spotify-Samsung partnership not only means that Spotify now gets deeper integration on devices and services, like Bixby, it could potentially allow the two companies to work together on under the hood, cross-platform integrations, as well. This could benefit Spotify’s ambitious podcasting plans, as listeners could pick up where they left off as they switch between devices. That wouldn’t have necessarily been possible without a device partnership like this.
Spotify says the expanded Samsung partnership will see the music service pre-installed on “millions” of Samsung devices worldwide, starting today, March 8, 2019.
“We were very excited to be named Samsung’s go-to music streaming service several months ago and today’s news will only ensure a more seamless Spotify listening experience across devices for listeners around the world,” said Sten Garmark, VP of Consumer Products, Spotify, in a statement. “This partnership makes it easy for Samsung mobile users to access their favorite music and podcasts on Spotify, wherever they are and however they choose to listen.”
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