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Music streaming service Spotify just made it easier for party hosts to add a great playlist to their event with a new Spotify Party feature that brings professionally curated dance and party songs together from expert music sources, including DJs and music producers.
Spotify Party, which was announced by the company Dec. 16, was created for music fans who need help assembling music playlists for parties and other events. The fledgling service aims to provide Spotify users with professionally mixed playlists featuring custom beat-matched music for a wide range of occasions.
The first such playlist, which includes 120 curated tracks, was created by professional DJ and music producer Diplo for Spotify, with more custom playlists to come in the future from other sources.
“When it comes to throwing parties you simply have to have the right playlists—or everyone will leave,” Diplo said in a statement. “And while researching and picking out music is fun, it also takes a lot of time and effort. With Spotify Party, you’re served with loads of beat-matched music that transitions perfectly, which you can easily adapt to whatever your current vibe is. Best of all, you don’t have to do any of the legwork.”
The Diplo-created first playlist means that every song blends smoothly with the next, giving guests nonstop music with no interruptions, while setting the mood for the event with, according to Spotify. Users can also engage the new Play Queue, which lets users quickly add, remove and rearrange songs without having to interrupt the music.
Spotify Party is rolling out immediately to Android and iOS users, according to the company. “And with even more exclusive mixes on the way, we’re only just getting this party started.”
In June, Spotify received $526 million in new funding just before Apple started up its own Apple Music streaming service to take on Spotify, Pandora and other leaders in the streaming music marketplace.
Spotify’s latest funding round includes a $115 million investment from Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera AB, according to an earlier eWEEK story. The additional money will used to help fortify Spotify as it prepares for the new competition from Apple, which has a large user base and an established iTunes business that has been selling music by the song or album since 2003.
Spotify’s premium music streaming accounts cost $9.99 per month for the first user, with a 50 percent discount for each additional family member who wants to use the service.
In June, Spotify said it had reached the 20 million subscriber mark, barely a year after hitting the 10 million subscriber mark in May 2014. The company claimed about 75 million active users at the time, including a majority who use its free ad-supported streaming services. Spotify, which is available in 58 countries, says it has about 30 million songs in its collection, with about 20,000 added daily.
The company said at the time that it had paid out more than $3 billion in royalties to musical artists for the content it has provided to subscribers, including $300 million in the first three months of 2015.
Apple Music launched June 30 in 100 countries. It is priced at $9.99 per month after a free 90-day trial, or up to six family members can share a membership for $14.99 per month.