Spotify allows music playback over WiFi speakers with free version

Spotify is releasing a new SDK that makes Spotify Connect available with the free version of the music streaming service. Speaker manufacturers must implement the new SDK to make the functionality available.

Spotify Connect

Spotify will work with manufacturers to bring the so-called eSDK 3 to existing and new speakers in the coming months, VentueBeat writes. Spotify Connect lets users play music from their smartphone on another device that is on the same Wi-Fi network. This works, for example, with devices that have built-in Google Cast or WiFi speakers that are compatible with Spotify Connect.

Using Spotify Connect, the music is not streamed from the phone to the speaker, but the speaker itself connects via WiFi to the Spotify servers to retrieve the music. That generally works more stable than streaming via Bluetooth to a speaker.

In 2013, Spotify Connect was announced. At the time, the streaming service concluded deals with various audio equipment manufacturers to build in support. For now, the feature only worked for paying Spotify subscribers. Making Spotify Connect available to non-paying users follows previous extensions to the free version in April this year.

In the past quarter, the number of Spotify customers with a free subscription grew faster than the number of paid subscribers. There are now 191 million monthly active subscribers. Of these, 87 million have a paid subscription.