Spotify is in South Africa!

After a position to work for streaming giant as a music editor for the South African region was posted online last year, it was clear that Spotify had plans to launch into the African market and after rumours flew around over the past week, the service has officially launched in South Africa.

Spotify is the largest music streaming service in the world and as it launches in South Africa today, it marks the service’s first expansion into Africa. Many South Africans have been using the site thanks to special VPN spoofs and after a massive demand for the brand in South Africa, the company is excited about entering the African market.

The service will be available in two options – ‘Spotify Free’ which won’t cost a thing but features ads as well as ‘Spotify Premium’ which features no adverts, offline listening, unlimited skips and high-quality audio for just R59,99 per month – the same as Apple Music. Both options will be available with shuffle play. “With over 159 million active users, including over 71 million Spotify Premium subscribers, Spotify offers a choice between an ongoing free ad-supported music service and a fully-featured, ad-free subscription service,” the company said. Each subscriber gets a free 30-day Spotify Premium trial.

Streaming has become incredibly popular in South Africa and Spotify will be competing with Apple Music, Deezer, Simfy and JOOX upon it’s launch. However, features like radio and it’s recommendations and playlists make Spotify an attractive service for users.

The app is now available on the Apple App Store, Google Play and Microsoft Store and works on Xbox and PlayStation consoles and certain TVs. Since Spotify is also a social app, the platform is integrated into social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Waze and even Tinder.

Besides users, Spotify is also a great tool for artists. Artists have a platform called ‘Spotify For Artists’ and an app which allows them to see how their music is consumed in real time – something that can help artists and labels see which tracks are being received best. A game changer for the local industry! Independent artists are also able to load their songs onto the streaming service by a variety of online aggregators and your music could be on the site in just over 24 hours so the platform is a great way to get your music out there.

While many are excited to try the service, data remains a huge issue in South Africa. Spotify understands this problem and is doing their best to utilize the app in the most efficient way possible. The default mode lets you listen to an hour of music for just over 10mb, however, if you have more data to spare, you can change the quality of the song to a higher one at your own discretion.

Spotify is incredibly excited about launching in South Africa and the African continent. The service also launches in Israel, Romania and Vietnam today and it’s exciting to see this powerhouse brand expanding its local footprint.

Tell us – are you excited about Spotify launching in South Africa?

Article by Peoples Magazine

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