Have you heard the news? Spotify has created an “Ecosystem.”

Spotify’s platform move takes a page from the game book of Facebook, a close Spotify partner. The social network decided several years ago to open its service to outside developers, transforming Facebook into a foundational layer for an ecosystem of externally created games, tools, widgets and features….CNN:

The developers will be able to create HTML 5 apps, which Ek said would make Spotify a music platform with which users could customize their experience.

The first generation of apps were revealed on screen and included big music brands such as Pitchfork, Billboard, Rolling Stone and Last.fm… Music Week:

The addition of third-party apps would augment the Spotify service and help it stand out from the sea of other competing music services, including ones offered by giants such as Apple, Google and Amazon…Cnet:

So how is this going to impact your life as an artist?  Well do you remember the Bjork Album app? That sort of thing (music + game) is going to a happen a lot in the future (I hope).

At this years SXSW Interactive there was a lot of talk about this gamification layer that’s being added to our lives. With this new Spotify ecosystem, artists could use it to create a custom music experience for their fans.  The finer details would be up to you but I’m sure at the very least custom/exclusive playlists will be something that is an easy yet classic way to communicate with fans.

These new apps will prove to be an important step for Spotify, who has also been releasing impressive numbers. Ten million active users, 2.5m paying users, 500m playlists, already paid $150m in royalties. But  although Spotify is getting bigger the world of streaming music still up for grabs.

Music Consciousness
Voyno