Sony and Spotify have entered a new partnership that will soon bring a new music service called PlayStation Music, the two companies have announced.
The new PlayStation Music service will roll out in the spring to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, as well as Sony Xperia smartphones and tablets. PS Vita users, however, are apparently not invited to this party.
"Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (SNEI) and Spotify today announced a global strategic partnership to deliver a best-in-class digital music experience to PlayStation Network and its 64 million active users1. Through this partnership, SNEI will launch a new music destination in Spring 2015 called PlayStation Music, with Spotify as the exclusive partner. Spotify on PlayStation Music will roll out in 41 markets, initially for PlayStation® consoles and XperiaTM smartphones and tablets," reads a press release on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
"Music is a core component of the entertainment offering that consumers expect from Sony, and our goal with PlayStation Music is to provide the most compelling music experiences to the millions of PlayStation Network users around the world," further boasted Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Group Executive in charge of the Network Entertainment Business. "This partnership represents the best in music and the best in gaming coming together, which will benefit the vibrant and passionate communities of both Spotify and PlayStation Network. We're thrilled to make Spotify the foundation of our strategy with PlayStation Music."
Spotify will be deeply integrated with the PlayStation Network (PSN) to offer neat and exclusive benefits to users. PSN members, for instance, will be able to easily link their accounts with Spotify, but they may have to sign up for Spotify Premium to take full advantage of the service. Users will be able to subscribe to Spotify Premium through their PSN wallet.
Spotify on PlayStation Music will boast more than 30 million songs and 1.5 billion playlists. Users will be able to create their own music collection and listen to playlists, enjoying Spotify on all supported devices. Furthermore, PlayStation 4 owners will be able to use Spotify while playing games to spice up their gaming sessions with music playing in the background on Spotify.
"We are incredibly honored to partner with Sony and PlayStation to give gamers around the world an amazing experience wherever they listen to music," said Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek. "As a gamer and PlayStation 4 user myself, I'm super excited to be able to soundtrack my FIFA 15 Arsenal matches later this spring."
Sony's current Music Unlimited service will shut down in all 19 countries on March 29, but the vast majority of those countries will get the new PlayStation Music service when it launches. Moreover, starting with Feb. 28, Music Unlimited users with active subscriptions will get free access to Music Unlimited through March 29. An introductory Spotify Premium trial will also be in the cards. Spotify on PlayStation Music will roll out in 41 markets in the spring. In the meantime, you can sign up here to receive more information as soon as it becomes available.
