Skip to main content
jishi
Headliner II
September 3, 2013

Spotify Connect, serious competition

Spotify today announced Spotify Connect, which will be a series of hardware from well-known hardware to seamlessly integrate spotify onto devices where the control is from the regular Spotify application on your phone or similar.

Streaming is still done directly through internet, so the phone isn't in charge of it, just controls it.

I really do hope that Sonos will follow this approach as well, I believe there are a lot more like me that primarily uses Sonos for Spotify, and being able to use the same app as always would be awesome.

Seems like there is already a feature request over at ask.sonos.com https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/support_spotify_connect_to_allow_users_to_use_the_spotify_app_as_the_controller
      This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

      249 replies

      Show previous replies
      nicka99
      nicka99
      Local Superstar
      September 4, 2013
      Im just using this to import all my playlists from Spotify to Rdio:
      http://resp.in/

      shame there is no free premium trial so I can test the Sonos integration.
      danc27
      Trending Lyricist I
      September 4, 2013
      Im just using this to import all my playlists from Spotify to Rdio:
      http://resp.in/

      shame there is no free premium trial so I can test the Sonos integration.

      There isn't? I thought they at least gave a 14 day trial.

      Actually, try downloading the mobile app if you an Android or iOS device and I think it should give you 7 day trial without needing to put a credit card in.
      nicka99
      nicka99
      Local Superstar
      September 4, 2013
      good thinking - installed app, offered 14 day free trial, now added as service on Sonos :-)

      funny I couldnt find that through their website.
      danc27
      Trending Lyricist I
      September 4, 2013
      good thinking - installed app, offered 14 day free trial, now added as service on Sonos :-)

      funny I couldnt find that through their website.

      Excellent. Let me know what you think - I've never used it on Sonos. And I'm curious to what you think of how it sounds as well. I've also always wondered if it streams gapless on Sonos because I know it doesn't on web/desktop/mobile.
      nicka99
      nicka99
      Local Superstar
      September 4, 2013
      Excellent. Let me know what you think - I've never used it on Sonos. And I'm curious to what you think of how it sounds as well. I've also always wondered if it streams gapless on Sonos because I know it doesn't on web/desktop/mobile.

      well for starters it has 'Artist Radio' which will never happen now with Spotify
      JDCJ
      Avid Contributor I
      September 4, 2013
      What would be great is if Rdio or Rhapsody or another service with similar library to Spotify could read and transfer my Spotify playlists over. Then I wouldn't worry as much about it.

      UPDATE: Just saw nicka99's link. Nice to know there might be another option yet for my playlists.
      nicka99
      nicka99
      Local Superstar
      September 4, 2013
      UPDATE: Just saw nicka99's link. Nice to know there might be another option yet for my playlists.

      its worked a treat so far. Rdio doesnt have a 'star track' feature so I just imported my 'Starred tracks' playlist for that purpose.

      Also the ability to match your entire Itunes/windows music library as a 'collection' is genius. Always bothered me with Spotify that everything had to be a playlist.
      ratty
      ratty
      September 4, 2013
      They're coming thick and fast, this time Qualcomm in partnership with Rhapsody.

      http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/123359-qualcomm-allplay-another-sonos-challenger-enters-the-game

      For now Sonos seems safe, however for how long depends on how quick manufacturers take the new technology on board.


      Too true. Mine sounds great.
      kilbey41
      Trending Lyricist I
      September 4, 2013
      I have been lurking for some time and really enjoy reading the user comments of this forum. I have 4 Play 5s and 2 Connects in my environment and love everything about my Sonos setup.

      I apologize if this is not in the right section but after the recent news by Spotify and Qualcom to compete with Sonos, I have a question that I hope can benefit Sonos itself. Mainly, what is the roadmap going forward? I'm not talking about the next product, but rather what would we, the users, like to see going forward for the ecosystem as a whole? I have benefited so much from reading these posts and am amazed at how clever and creative a lot of you are that I think it would be good for Sonos to hear how we might map it out.

      It is clear that there are a lot of comanies, with a lot of cash interested in the space. Like Apple experienced, they will eventually find a way to copy the major benefits of Sonos and likely at much lower price points.

      For me, video is not that important unless it allows me to stream across any screen in any location. Streaming across screens in my home is a nice start but it is pretty much available through my cable system and also through most satelites and slingbox. Stand alone apps will likely make this even better in the future.

      Music itself has much more importance for me but apart from being able to listen offsite, which is available as well, I don't know how Sonos improves the current product other than building a portable unit and improving the interface. My house is not big enough to warrant too many more players.

      The car is something I would love but since I can stream music services already, I am interested in how Sonos could improve this.

      So far I see the living room video push as being the most significant for Sonos but apart from adding more speakers to your movie watching experience, I don't see how this is game changing.

      I guess what I'm really interested in is whether Sonos will just be a box maker that will ultimately be bettered at some point, or will they evolve into something totally different. If they do evolve, how will this look? How does Sonos become a game changer?

      My guess is that the competition will ultimately beome too much and they will sell to one of the big boys. We will suffer in return.
      jgatie
      jgatie
      September 5, 2013
      kilbey41,

      Welcome to the forum. Sonos does not publish a roadmap. That is their stated policy, so we are left to speculate. If we read between the lines, given the brief "Planned" status of Spotify Radio, which quickly changed back to "Under Consideration" and then to "Unplanned" after yesterday's announcement, I think we can rule out any elaborate Spotify functionality coming soon.

      As to my preference for a roadmap, I use Sonos in the following ways:

      SiriusXM - 35%
      Local Library - 35%
      MOG - 15%
      Internet Radio - 10%
      All Others - 5%

      I personally would love the new SiriusXM On-Demand functions; give me that and I would be a pig in slop. But I realize SiriusXM users are probably not a large percentage of Sonos users (although they should advertise more on SiriusXM. It's what got me to try Sonos in the first place!!! 😉 ). So seeing that my personal choices are basically music, music, music and talk shows, I've no need for video, and hope Sonos wastes no valuable resources on it. Instead, I hope they continue to be the most reliable, rock solid, least expensive multi-room whole house audio solution.

      As to the business plan, I feel that with the release of the Play:3 they have gotten the market penetration they wanted (and the riches that come with it), but they may have gone too far in the "we support service XYZ!!!" direction and have stopped emphasizing their real strength - That they are a much cheaper alternative to any other multi-room whole house system out there. This emphasis on service provider support also has a big gotcha; it relies on the cooperation of the service providers. Will the fact that the services are now getting a little hungry for their own slice of the pie spell Sonos' demise? I guess we will find out.

      Of course this is all just my opinion. YMMV.
      Show more replies
      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement