Spotify vs Apple Music: The battle for numbers extends to game shows

The buoyant battle between Spotify and Apple Music continues for user and subscriber numbers – with Spotify coming up with a move that no-one expected.

As the platform continues its multi-million dollar push into podcasts by advertising for executives from other fields, it now looks like Spotify is contemplating moving into game shows.

A report in UK-based Music Business Worldwide notes a job ad for a Los Angeles-based Reality Formats Lead at Spotify, who will oversee the company’s exclusive content strategy within the ‘Reality’ category.

The ad says the person will be in charge of reality podcast development – and pitching them to TV networks – that includes content based around game shows, dating/romance, self-improvement and competitions.

Elsewhere the Swedish DSP has launched a simplified music stream app Spotify Lite for “36 emerging markets”.

Built for Android devices, it will be free to download, speeds up installation at only 10 megabytes in size, one third that of the traditional version, and with a capped mobile data.

Lite lacks the popular Spotify Connect option or the option to stream music with extreme quality audio, and its search function is limited to links to albums and playlists.

The 36 countries include primarily India (where it has 2 million users after launching there in February) and Latin America, with others including Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia.

Apple Music, on the other hand, has doubled its free trial to students, from three months to six months.

The deal is for new subscribers only, who will have to have an active student email address and to also verify their enrolment through UNiDAYS, a service that helps students save with dozens of brands.