Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' will become a Spotify-exclusive podcast

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Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert is the latest popular podcast that will become a Spotify exclusive. All past and future episodes will be available exclusively on the service starting July 1. The company also signed a deal with Armchair Umbrella Network to get first dibs on any other show the network creates. It isn't known how long Spotify will license the show because the terms of the deal weren't shared. But the podcast will move the hosting to Megaphone, a Spotify company, and Spotify will handle its ad sales in-house.

As The Verge pointed out, a key component of Spotify's podcasting strategy is to offer the shows both to free and paying users while keeping the ads in the shows so it can earn from every podcast listen. Having a popular show exclusive on its platform, like Armchair Expert, will draw in more listeners, which can help the company sell more ads.

Spotify redesigns Your Library on mobile

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Spotify has just announced it's revamping the Your Library tab on both Android and iOS. The goal was to streamline that way you can access your audio collection. According to Spotify, "Your Library's updated design and added features will enable you to spend less time looking for content and organizing your collection, and more time rediscovering the music and podcasts you've loved over the years."

The new look will make it easier to browse and search through your entire collection in one place. There will be new dynamic filters to help you look through your collection. You can choose between album, artist, playlist, or podcast. And for Premium users, you can tap on the Downloaded filter to see which content is available offline. 

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Spotify gets a new mini player in Facebook's mobile apps

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Now, you no longer have to leave the Facebook app to listen to songs or podcasts recommended on your feed. Spotify is rolling out this feature to its iOS and Android apps in 27 countries, including Canada. The first time you use the player, there will be a prompt asking you to connect the music and social apps. You'll be asked to sign in if you haven't yet.

As you play audio content, the mini player lives on the bottom of the interface just above the navigation icons. You'll see an album or show artwork and title and artist info. Premium subscribers get the full functionality of the player, while free users have access to shuffle mode. There will also be ads playing for free Spotify subscribers, as what happens on the Spotify app. Those without Spotify accounts will get a 30-second preview of the track.

Source: Spotify | Via: Engadget

Spotify tipped to offer its own paid podcast subscription option

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If the rumours are true, it looks like Spotify will also launch its paid podcast subscription option. And according to the Wall Street Journal's sources, Spotify might unveil this service "next week," which would come at the tail of Apple's paid podcast subscription announcement. But unlike its rival, Spotify supposedly wouldn't charge a fee or take a cut of each membership. The podcasters will set their own prices.

Those who use Spotify's iOS app will reportedly get steered to a website to complete the transaction, which would deny Apple of its "App Store tax." Spotify hasn't confirmed these rumours, but according to the company's chief content and ad business officer Dawn Ostroff, there was "room for everybody" in the audio space.

Source: Engadget