Tag: alex norström

Spotify Premium for Family Gets a New Family Member—A Google Home Mini

October 31, 2018

*Updated April 24, 2019: New and existing Premium for Family plan master account holders in Australia can now sign up for a Google Home Mini at https://www.spotify.com/us/family/ starting on 04/24. Note, this is a limited offer, only available for Australian Spotify Premium for Family users till May 14, 2019—so don’t wait.

*Updated March 18, 2019: New and existing Premium for Family plan master account holders in Great Britain and France can now sign up for a Google Home Mini at https://www.spotify.com/us/family/ starting on 03/18. Note, this is a limited offer, only available for Great Britain and France Spotify Premium for Family users till May 14, 2019—so don’t wait.

 

With the Spotify Premium for Family plan, families have unlimited access to the songs, playlists, and artists they love—and love to enjoy together. Starting tomorrow, we are teaming up with Google Home to give Spotify Premium for Family master account owners in the U.S. a Google Home Mini as part of their subscription. Now, music lovers across generations will be able to share their favorite music with the entire family, simply by asking their Google Home Mini powered by the Google Assistant.

Spotify Premium for Family subscribers already enjoy personalized Spotify accounts for up to six family members at only $14.99 per month. With Spotify Premium and Google Home partnering together to invest in voice, streaming your favorite songs and playlists has never been so easy. Once configured, Voice Match on Google Home can identify up to six people, meaning each person can enjoy a personalized experience. And it’s just the beginning.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Google Home to bring the magic of voice to our Spotify Premium Family subscribers. After all, what’s more fun than sharing the music you love with the people you love,” says Alex Norström, Chief Premium Business Officer. “For Family Plan subscribers, enjoying those moments will only get better. Now anytime their favorite artists comes up, they can simply say ‘Hey Google, turn it up!’

The Google Home Mini will be available for a limited time to Premium for Family plan master account holders in the U.S. at https://www.spotify.com/us/family/ starting on 11/1*. We’ve even streamlined the set-up to get you started and playing Spotify sooner.

To start listening, just say:
“Hey Google, play Spotify”
“Hey Google, resume Spotify”
“Hey Google, shuffle some music”
“Hey Google, play my Discover Weekly”
“Hey Google, play Dinner Party music”
“Hey Google, play Study music”
“Hey Google, play Hip Hop music”
“Hey Google, play my favorite music”
“Hey Google, play ‘Angel by Lionel Richie”

Then, when you’re in the zone, go:
“Hey Google, pause.”
“Hey Google, turn it up.”
“Hey Google, please quiet down.”
“Hey Google, like this song.”
“Hey Google, dislike this song.”
“Hey Google, skip forward 20 seconds.”
“Hey Google, skip backward one minute.”

And when you’re ready to discover more, try:
“Hey Google, play the next song.”
“Hey Google, what’s playing?
“Hey Google, who is this singer?”
“Hey Google, what’s this song?”
“Hey Google, what’s this album?”
Hey Google, when did this song come out?”

* New and existing Premium for Family plan master account holders can sign up for a Google Home Mini at https://www.spotify.com/us/family/ starting on 11/1. Note, this is a limited offer, only available for U.S. Spotify Premium for Family users till December 14, 2018—so don’t wait.

4 Questions (and Answers) with Chief Premium Business Officer Alex Norström About Spotify Premium for Students

September 5, 2018

It’s back-to-school season. For some, that means new backpacks, notebooks, pencils, and pens. It also means an upgraded version of Spotify Premium for Students. Now, in addition to Spotify Premium’s millions of songs and podcasts and Hulu’s hours of next-day entertainment content, student subscribers will also have access to SHOWTIME’s full suite of premium storytelling content.

So whether you study to music or the sounds of silence, write essays on the difference between Hulu’s Emmy award-winning series The Handmaid’s Taleand Margaret Atwood’s novel, or unwind with SHOWTIME’s Shameless, there’s something for every student to stream.

We sat down with Alex Norström, Chief Premium Business Officer, Spotify, to learn a little more about the partnership.

Q: Spotify Premium already has a student plan. What’s new in this bundle?

A: Until now, our Premium for Students subscription included Spotify Premium and Hulu for only $4.99 a month. Yet we saw that it was widely successful with students, so we sought a way to offer them even more. That’s how we decided to add the SHOWTIME streaming service to our Spotify Premium for Students plan at no additional cost. We’re talking about original series, films, documentaries, sports, and more for the same low price. That’s helping U.S. college students access more premium content than ever—a “stream come true.”

Q: What is Spotify Premium trying to achieve with this change?

A: We realized that there are certain users who aren’t prepared to pay for just a music service, for a variety of reasons. We want to create a meaningful relationship with these potential users, many of whom are younger. But we also found that, when this music service, Spotify Premium, is enriched with other services, like Hulu and SHOWTIME, users are prepared and even willing to pay. Bundling, or providing multiple services in one, lets us increase the value of our Spotify Premium for Students plan beyond our core audio offering.

Additionally, we are always looking for partners and opportunities that share and show our values. Working with others has shown to help drive growth, which in turn allows us to improve our margins, attract new users, and improve retention and user satisfaction of the Premium subscription. It’s good for us, and it allows us to provide unparalleled content for our users.

Our current partnership with Hulu has been an overwhelming success for both of us. Originally, it was a creative way to add value back to our Premium subscribers. Now, our focus is on the long-term relationship with each subscriber. If we do the right thing, they reward us with loyalty. In turn, we innovate more for them.

Q: Why should students be excited?

A: Spotify Premium for Students, now with both Hulu and SHOWTIME, gives college students unprecedented, on-demand access to a complete world of music and video content, shows and film—all in one convenient package. This latest offer for U.S. students—both the millions already on Spotify Premium and those who are new—really is huge. Never before have students had this level of streaming entertainment options, at this unprecedented value, all in one package.

Q: How has response to the announcement been so far?

A: We’re excited to report that we have seen consistently positive responses, both internally and externally. The initial feedback has been promising, which suggests that students are really receptive to the plan. I enjoy the conversation on Twitter, where some students have called Spotify “undefeated.” It shows that we’re committed to providing them with even more content to love.

It doesn’t matter if you’re already a Spotify Premium for Students user or are new to the class: sign up and start streaming Spotify Premium, Hulu, and SHOWTIME at spotify.com/student.