Support Spotify Connect to allow users to use the Spotify app as the controller.

Hi everyone, we appreciate the request for an update to the thread, it’s been too long since our last post here.  

As everyone following this conversation already knows, the decision has been made not to implement Spotify Connect. Like many such decisions, it’s complex, and we don’t want to go into the details.  To put it simply, we don’t see Spotify Connect as the right solution for Sonos at this time.

If you’re new to Sonos, you might not be aware that Spotify was launched on Sonos in 2010, and at the time was the first home hardware partnership for Spotify.  We’re focusing our efforts on this existing integration, and began with improvements to stability under high usage following the holiday outages.  

Our vision is to bring the Spotify-Sonos experience much closer to the experience you have when using the native Spotify app.  It’s going to take time, but work is in progress by both partners.  We’ll keep you posted.

I'm new to SONOS, having just bought a connect as a look for a replacement for my SQUEEZEBOX system. As I posted elsewhere,  I was looking forward especially to a better interface with Spotify, and I'm very disappointed. As one possible solution, I'm looking at Deezer and I'm guessing that what they have done there gives some clues as to what they are looking to do. Deezer is offering a high-definition (i.e., FLAC) stream that is only available on SONOS, and the SONOS interface is pretty complete. Since I am interested in the higher quality stream, and so far the selection of classical music seems comparable to Spotify, I might be willing to make the switch. However, I would still worry about the slow response of SONOS to this issue and the limited dialog with users about it. So now I have to decide whether to return the SONOS connect and look elsewhere, or drop Spotify for a service that is better integrated with SONOS.

I have switched to google music away from Spotify, but looking at alternatives as the spotify app is simply the best on the market.  Another vote for Spotify connect to Sonos.

Sonos: you should reconsider this. I like Sonos, but missed the superior search and radio features of the Spotify app too much, so l sold my Sonos equipment and purchased a competing product with Spotify Connect. I have never looked back.

We all have our own list of priorities and desires when it comes to Sonos.

What however baffles me is the high percentage of Play1 users complaining about lack of Bluetooth and AirPlay support after the purchase. 

If one wants a single (portable) speaker, why would they go with Sonos anyway?

Sorry but you bought the wrong device, its that simple. Go back to the store and exchange it for something that has Bluetooth and Airplay logos on the box, like B&W, Bose or whatever else resides next to it on the shelf.

Rather than ponder what might be right for Sonos maybe a more relevant question to ask yourselves would be "what's right for our users that have invested in our hardware".
In my opinion the Sonos app will become obsolete as people dont want to use Google Music, Spotify etc from within another app, the current crippled version of Spotify that Sonos offers is a good demonstartion of why this isn't a good solution, and one that I don't believe people will put up with given a viable alternative.

Hey Sonos. I own 6 of your products. I'd love to own more. Make me love you and support Spotify Connect. Your competition is heating up:

http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/28/polk-omni-speakers-spotify-connect/?ncid=rss_truncated

"manufacturers quickly started taking advantage of it" - Sadly, Sonos wasnt one of them !

Not trying to defend Sonos or anything but Spotify are doing this to themselves. They are the most closed of all music services. Their success is going to be their downfall. The invention of Spotify Connect is another bad decisions that is trying to do do the "Apple" thing and lock you into their ecosystem. 

I was a big fan of Spotify until sometime last year when I got some free trial for Google Access and Deezer and had some quality time with them. Spotify sounds the worst of all, after all these years, they are still in the process of upgrading their catalogue to 320kbps. Google Play sounds heaps better, Deezer is now offering FLAC. Spotify is the only music app that is not supporting Chromecast. Spotify is the only app that is not allowing offline downloading to SD card on Android devices. Spotify's app on Sonos is shocking, and I am willing to bet everything it is not Sonos who are to blame for that but the money grabbing bastards from Spotify. Just look at all the other Sonos apps even from the smaller guys in this music service business, they all look much more polished and fully featured.

And lastly, more and more artists are leaving Spotify because of their practices. 

Alex,

We understand where you're coming from and we hear your point of view.  

Sonos is committed to our partnership with Spotify.  We love Spotify and we haven't stopped improving the Spotify experience on Sonos.  As a recent example, in October of last year we added the ability to Star Spotify tracks direct from a Sonos Controller.

We have no plans to support Spotify Connect at this time, both parties have been upfront about this decision since the initial Spotify Connect announcement last year.  We have not published the details of this decision for our own internal reasons (which I will also not get into).

You're welcome to share your opinion here and wherever else you wish, as well as to examine other options if that's what you'd like to do.

Thanks,

John
In other words, you are strongly committed to going out of business in the near future.

"We love Spotify and we haven't stopped improving the Spotify experience on Sonos."

You've done absolutely nothing to improve this particular experience recently, a year later, far as I can tell. Thus the grumbling on these forums, which you choose to disregard at your own peril. 

You've chosen to push the burden on to your own consumers instead of rectifying what is an extremely obvious fix waiting to happen.

Wake up, Sonos. I've unfortunately already commited $ to you, which is absolutely the only reason why I remain a customer as of today. But you've lost my trust. Meaning I won't ever recommend the company to anybody else, and may soon decide to sell & reinvest in a different system in the very near future. 

Hi everyone, we appreciate the request for an update to the thread, it’s been too long since our last post here.  

As everyone following this conversation already knows, the decision has been made not to implement Spotify Connect. Like many such decisions, it’s complex, and we don’t want to go into the details.  To put it simply, we don’t see Spotify Connect as the right solution for Sonos at this time.

If you’re new to Sonos, you might not be aware that Spotify was launched on Sonos in 2010, and at the time was the first home hardware partnership for Spotify.  We’re focusing our efforts on this existing integration, and began with improvements to stability under high usage following the holiday outages.  

Our vision is to bring the Spotify-Sonos experience much closer to the experience you have when using the native Spotify app.  It’s going to take time, but work is in progress by both partners.  We’ll keep you posted.

No John, this answer is not what this community needs. Sorry to disappoint you, but we are expecting more from SONOS.

Try to listen to your users needs and solve their problems delivering value.

Currently, You're only delivering headaches instead of the best experience ever.

Spotify & Sonos are not so close anymore: http://spotifygear.com/

It's been years since the Spotify-SONOS experience doesn't evolve. So faith is not keeping us anymore. 

Please give us a timeline and specify your priority list for user experience improvement.

We invest in you and we don't see any commitment from your side, but neutral answers. 

We need your commitment. SONOS is nothing without the commitment of its users, so I'm not asking for something your users haven't gave your already.

Please, stop this kind of messages that doesn't say anything at all in the end.

Just to add my voice. I currently have 5 sonos products. I use them exclusively with spotify. I am planning to sell them on ebay and move to another speaker system that supports spotify connect. 

There is an interesting thread on github where a developer quotes from a chat with a Spotify Connect developer:

On 10 May 2014 18:25, "Stein Magnus Jodal" <notifications@github.com> wrote:

I recently asked a couple of Spotify engineers about Spotify Connect, with especial focus on part three: Controlling mopidy through a spotify client as if it were just another "smart" speaker/amp.

This is what I learned

• The playing device (e.g. Mopidy) streams music directly from Spotify's servers.
• The controlling device (Spotify app on your phone) may be removed and the music will continue playing
• Spotify Connect is entirely custom. It has nothing to do with UPnP/DLNA, Qualcomm Allplay, Chromecast's DIAL, or similar
• Control is done through Spotify's servers, not directly over your local network
• There no special hardware required
• Eventually there will be a public SDK for Connect functionality
• Currently this SDK is only being distributed to Spotify Partners 
• Reverse engineering the protocol is supposedly quite hard, so we're recommended to sit tight waiting for the SDK.

https://github.com/mopidy/mopidy-spotify/issues/14

As Spotify didn't announce Sonos as partner for Connect, Sonos obviously can't integrate it for now.

Nice job.  As an aside, Windows phone app idea is known to have been flooded by people who do not and never will own Sonos, sent here via a campaign on various Windows fan sites.  It's not hard to Google the call to arms.
There is certainly plenty of ambiguity and overlap that none of us can conclusively answer. Honestly, most users don't care about strategy or operational considerations as they just want their product to "work".

Nice job.  As an aside, Windows phone app idea is known to have been flooded by people who do not and never will own Sonos, sent here via a campaign on various Windows fan sites.  It's not hard to Google the call to arms.