Tag: Students

9 Ways to Use Spotify to Ace Your Way Back to School

September 6, 2019

With the northern hemisphere’s summer holidays disappearing like a sunset over the beach, it’s time to face the facts: school is back in session. But just because summer lovin’ is over doesn’t mean the streaming has to be: Spotify makes for a great study partner. This school year, double down on your history lecture via podcast, easily share your favorite tunes with classmates, or get serious about studying with the perfect playlist.

Take a look at our nine recommendations for some back-to-school streaming.

  1. Podcasts for all occasions

Continue learning outside the classroom with podcasts, and impress your teacher with your newfound knowledge of Greek mythology, or explore brand-new topics and wow the class. Click on “Podcasts” in the Spotify app and explore a wide range of them, including many Spotify Originals.

  1. Parlez-vous français?

Are words failing you? If you enjoyed summer so much you forgot your French (or Spanish, or German, or English), we understand. Gain back those foreign-language skills, or prove that Latin isn’t dead, by listening to the language courses of your choosing via podcast during study hour.

  1. Listen offline

Don’t worry if the gym was built with cinder blocks and Wi-Fi there is decades away. With a Spotify Premium account, you can download your playlists before you hit the mats, then you can listen offline. 

  1. Share your favorite lists and songs with friends

Shakespeare said, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” but he didn’t know Spotify was going to be a thing. With Spotify Codes, you can easily add friends’ playlists and songs and share your own. Learn how it works here.

  1. Create a shared playlist with your friends

With a shared playlist, everyone with a Spotify account can contribute their favorite songs. This is not only fun in the moment, but it serves as a fantastic bit of nostalgia for years later, when you’re reminiscing on the songs you and your friends chose together. Learn how to make a shared playlist here.

  1. Back to a normal bedtime

Summer vacay can mean many late evenings—and a reality check when getting back into a responsible-person sleep schedule. With Spotify’s playlists of serene music to relax you before bed, you’ll be sawing logs in no time. You can find all playlists in the sleeping hub here.

  1. Playlists for in-the-zone studying

Do you require a backdrop of ’90s hip-hop to drown out the world around you? Or maybe lyrics distract you and you study better with white noise or classical music. Spotify has playlists that suit your fancy and allow neither classmates nor siblings to come between you and your studies. Check out our focus hub with various styles of playlists here.

  1. Silent pauses, be gone!

If you’re studying and need constant music—meaning you loathe those endless empty seconds where one song ends and the next one begins—it is within your power to change that. Click “Settings,” scroll down and press “Play,” and you can set the pause of your track transitions.

  1. Continue listening to similar songs when your jams end

When your playlist or album ends, you can let Spotify generate music similar to what you just listened to by allowing Autoplay. Just look under “Settings,” then go to “Playback” and choose “Autoplay.”

This school season, you can enjoy the benefits of Spotify Premium—unlimited skips, on-demand plays, and downloadable playlists—at a student-friendly cost. Check out Spotify Premium for Students to Learn More.

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.

Spotify Premium for Students: Now with Hulu and SHOWTIME

August 29, 2018

With back to school season upon us, students are stocking up on all they need to thrive at school. Though they may have busy schedules and tight budgets, they still want to keep up with their favorite shows and music. That’s why today, we’re announcing an upgraded Spotify Premium for Students plan, and giving students unrivaled access to world-class content for one low price.

Our current Spotify Premium for Students plan offers unlimited and on-demand access to all of our music and podcasts for $4.99, as well as a subscription to Hulu’s streaming library of current and fan-favorite TV and movie hits. Today we’re adding SHOWTIME to the plan, to let students enjoy even more award-winning, top-rated programming – all at the same low price and with the simplicity of one single bill. How’s that for an A+?

With the addition to the Spotify Premium for Students plan, students will have unlimited access to thousands of hours of SHOWTIME’s premium entertainment content. The shows run the gamut from original TV series – including Emmy® nominated Shameless, seven-season strong Homeland, Sacha Baron-Cohen’s Who Is America, Lena Waithe’s much anticipated The Chi, the upcoming comedy series Kidding starring Jim Carrey, and the semi-autobiographical SMILF, as well as Billions, Ray Donovan, The Affair, and Twin Peaks.

SHOWTIME’s library also includes blockbuster movies such as Girl on the Train and Baby Driver, in addition to live telecasts, music, comedy and political shows and documentaries, and sports programming, including SHOWTIME Championship Boxing. Spotify Premium for Students subscribers with SHOWTIME will also have access to the live telecast of the network’s East and West Coast feeds, as well as commercial-free access to all their shows, whether they’re watching on-demand or downloading for later.

Student Premium subscribers can of course already enjoy Hulu’s library of acclaimed Original Series, includes Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale, The Looming Tower, Marvel’s Runaways and Castle Rock; as well as current-season television like This is Us and Rick & Morty, hit movies and exclusive library series, including Family Guy, Lost, ER and more.

Spotify Premium has just changed the content game for students. By joining forces with SHOWTIME and continuing our relationship with Hulu, Spotify Premium is now able to give students a complete world of music and video content, shows and film. 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.

Alex Norström, Chief Premium Officer, Spotify

In order to sign up, students should go to spotify.com/student. The updated plan—which includes Spotify Premium, Hulu, and SHOWTIME—is still only $4.99 per month. You don’t have to be a math major to see how that one adds up.

Existing Spotify Premium for Students subscribers should upgrade their plan to include both Hulu and SHOWTIME at no additional cost. And because we know students have plenty of other things they want to spend their money on—textbooks, for example 😉 —we’re offering the service to new subscribers for just $0.99 for the first three months.

Like all good students, you probably have some questions about the nitty gritty. Now’s the time to study up.

1. Can I get this offer if I am not already a Spotify Premium for Students subscriber?

Absolutely. You can easily sign up for the Spotify Premium for Students Plan at spotify.com/student.

2. If I already have the Spotify Premium for Students with Hulu plan, how do I get Showtime?

You’ll have immediate access to SHOWTIME as a pre-existing Spotify Premium for Student user. Simply upgrade your account and activate SHOWTIME at www.spotify.com/student.

3. How do I know if I’m eligible?

All U.S. college students enrolled at Title IV accredited institutions are eligible to participate.

4. If I have SHOWTIME or Hulu already, can I pair them?

You will not be able to pair an existing SHOWTIME or Hulu account and your Spotify Premium for Students plan. To access SHOWTIME or Hulu through the Spotify Premium plan, cancel your current SHOWTIME or Hulu subscription and then sign up for Spotify Premium for Students.

5. Do I get one login/username for all three apps?

You will need to set up three separate accounts, one for each service.

6. What devices can I use?

No matter how, where, or when you stream, Spotify, SHOWTIME, and Hulu are available on their respective apps across all your devices—TV, tablet, phone, and computer.

Excited to go back to school? We are too.

‘See You Again’: Charlie Puth’s Musical Homecoming

July 30, 2018

Most people visit their alma maters excited to see their old dorms or to catch the homecoming tailgate and football game. But when Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/producer Charlie Puth stopped by his old stomping grounds at Berklee College of Music in July, it was for slightly more academic reasons: to be a frank, off-the-cuff guest lecturer for students looking to perfect their music and pursue their passion, just as he did.

The Berklee grad (class of 2013) walked away from college with a degree in music production and engineering, as well as knowledge and experience that helped him land his first major label deal, with Atlantic, in 2015. From there, he collaborated with Meghan Trainor on their hit single “Marvin Gaye,” and Wiz Khalifa on the Grammy-nominated number “See You Again.” He released his debut album, Nine Track Mind, in January 2016.

Yet throughout his burgeoning fame he hasn’t forgotten his roots. On July 12, Puth joined up with Spotify and one of his former Berklee teachers, Grammy-nominated hit songwriter and former “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi, to host a special workshop and live performance for current top-performing upperclassmen at campus hot spot Cafe 939. He reflected on his time at the school and launching his career, workshopped with students, provided tips for improvement, and even performed some of his hits, including “Done for Me,” “How Long,” “Attention,” “The Way I Am,” and “See You Again.”

“I’m on cloud nine right now, you know why?” Charlie asked the class. “I played a show in front of 15,000 people last night. But my first show ever was in this room. It’s come full circle.”

Listen to Charlie Puth’s newest, self-produced album, Voicenotes.