Spotify announced on Wednesday that it is adding iPod sync support to its music service and apparently moving into Apple’s iTunes territory in the process. The new download service will let users sync MP3 content from their Spotify playlists to their iPods without requiring iTunes to handle the music transfer.
The new music sync feature will be compatible with iPod classic, iPod nano and iPod shuffle. iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners can still stream music through the Spotify app.
Spotify adds iPod sync support
The announcement means Spotify’s 10 million customers will be able to load music from the service, bypassing Apple’s iTunes and iTunes Store. For now, however, the U.S. can’t get in on the game because Spotify is still limited Europe despite the company’s efforts to open shop in the States.
Apple hasn’t commented on Spotify’s just announced feature upgrade, but it seems likely the company isn’t overly excited about the news. Apple has historically worked to keep its iPod/iTunes/iTunes Store ecosystem closed to control the user experience.
Updating the iPod software to block Spotify syncing doesn’t seem likely, although Apple has done that in the past with other companies. Assuming Apple lets Spotify move forward with its iPod syncing feature, the door may be open for other music companies to follow suit.