Today we have an update for our popular Android app available. Just head over to the Android Market or m.spotify.com with you phone and you can download the latest update.

Changes included in this update are:

• Ability to choose storage location on devices with more than one memory card.
• Changes to user interface.
• Reduced startup time.
• Improved battery life when using Spotify.
• Volume control now always controls media volume, even if music is not playing.
• Support for media buttons and audio focus APIs introduced in Froyo.
• Much improved music syncing over WiFi.
• Voice search now works properly when in Spotify.
• Scrobbling issues have been fixed.
• Bug causing missing cover art for local files has been fixed.
• Failing to sync with locked screen has been fixed.
• Music starting by itself after a phone call has been fixed.
• Many other stability and performance improvements.

Enjoy!

London’s The Leisure Society release their sophomore album, Into The Murky Water, on May 2nd. Starting today, Spotify Premium subscribers can listen to an exclusive 6-track sampler of the album before it’s release.

We’re also running a competition where users can win a pair of tickets to the Leisure Society gig in London and a signed LP. All you have to do is to subscribe to this playlist: Nick’s Compilation Of Good Vibrations and ‘Like’ the Leisure Society Facebook page.

We have an update to our iPhone and iPod Touch app to let you know about today.

This update includes numerous improvements, an updated design and the following changes:

• Localised into French and Spanish
• The Edit button is back - use it to create new playlists, remove playlists, and mark playlists for offline use
• Local Files playlist shows you all the mp3s and m4as you have wifi synced from your computer
• Redesigned with a new colour scheme
• Removed iPod integration feature. All your MP3s can now be easily synced using the Local Files feature.

The update is available in the App Store today, go forth and download!

We’ve always been big believers that if you try Spotify on your mobile phone you’ll fall in love with having millions of tracks at your fingertips everywhere you go, online and offline.

So to give everyone the chance to find out for themselves how great Spotify Premium really is we’ve got a seven-day free trial that you can sign up for.

If you haven’t tried Spotify Premium yet, then the free trial will allow you to listen to Spotify on your mobile phone (iPhone, Android, Symbian, etc) and on supported home stereo devices such as Sonos, Onkyo and Squeezebox. You’ll also get to use our great ‘Offline mode’ feature and boost the sound quality of your listening.

You’ll have to enter a credit card number or Paypal account info to take advantage of the offer but if you’re not totally happy you can cancel at any time and you won’t be charged. If you do decide to continue you’ll automatically become a regular Spotify Premium user after the seven days is over and you’ll be charged on a monthly basis.

So now, there’s no reason not to try Spotify Premium, give it a spin today!

We’re pleased to announce that Spotify will be available, for the first time, on home cinema receivers with our new partnership with Onkyo.

Spotify will be available on many of Onkyo’s 2011 network models, including the brand new TX-NR609, an updated version of the best-selling TX-SR608.

Spotify can be operated from any television screen connected to Onkyo’s home cinema receivers. With a few simple clicks on your remote you’re given onscreen access to your own playlists as well as your “What’s new” and “Starred” lists. You’ll also be able to explore further to browse artists, albums and tracks.

All you need to enjoy Spotify on Onkyo is an internet connection and a Spotify Premium subscription and you’re set to go!

Sharemyplaylists.com provides us with their latest installment monthly playlists.

The Soundtrack to February 2011

We kick things of, as always, with Phil Wilce’s brilliant The Soundtrack to February 2011. This is the must hear palylist on SMP, summarising succinctly the previous month in music; and what a blinder February was: check out trippy riffs from Miles Kane on Come Closer, the spectacular return of Mogwai on White Noise, pogoing indie-pop from Frankie & The Heartstrings, and the irresistible L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. by Noah And The Whale.

Ben Sherman Playlist 2

Those cool cats over at Ben Sherman blew us away with there first ever SMP playlist (available here), so we couldn’t wait to get our paws on their second outing. Ben Sherman Playlist 2 is full to the brim with the freshest new indie and electro around, from the likes of A Sunny Day In Glasgow, British Sea Power, Caribou, Everything Everything, Joan As Police Woman and Wolfgang. Get involved now!

Continue reading… »

R.E.M. unveils its latest album, Collapse Into Now, in a European exclusive! Spotify Premium subscribers can listen to the 12-track album in its entirety before its release. Give it a listen now!

Additionally, we’re running a competition giving all Spotify users a chance to win a Fender guitar signed by Michael Stipe and a Sonos S5 wireless system.

Here’s February’s selection of playlists from Sean Adams, founder of Drowned in Sound, a UK-based music blog and irreverent community of music lovers.

Drowned in February 2011

Here we go again. Another month whooshed on by but with more great releases condensed into it than any month in recent memory. There were of course the big guns like Gaga and Radiohead dominating conversations on the web but February wasn’t all about them, especially as it saw the return of some of my favourites. There was those shoe-ravin’ Aussies Cut Copy with the sound of summer, the strangely textured sound of war-documenting from PJ Harvey, a sci-fi folk record from Bright Eyes and a gigantic robotic beast of an album from Mogwai. That’s not to mention February’s bevvy of new music including the debut album from the much-hyped James Blake, delightful Canadians Braids or the throb of Austra. …listen here.

Also be sure to check out the top February playlists put together by the DiS community.

2011 Picks by DrownedinSound.com

Our community are slowly compiling their favourite records of the year (so far!!!) in this thread and I’ve been picking albums loved by them and by our reviewers in this playlist.

Two other playlists I made this month:
Songs That Sound a bit like ‘Born This Way’
DiS does Valentines

Efterklang’s third full-length album, Magic Chairs, has won the first IMPALA European Independent Album of the Year Award from a shortlist of 21 albums from across Europe.

Magic Chairs is the Danish band’s first album on the UK’s seminal 4AD label, who released the record globally in February 2010, with the band’s own label, Rumraket, releasing the album in Scandinavia. The record was mixed by Gareth Jones, famed for his work with Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and Grizzly Bear.

Magic Chairs has been described as “exemplary escapism” (BBC Music Review), containing “subtle tension and lurking drama”, combined with “heartbreaking melody” (The Guardian). Their “arresting, wistful songwriting style” (Mojo) has captivated audiences throughout Europe, making this orchestral masterpiece truly deserving of the title “Album of the Year”. Other exceptional artists that were up for the award included Caro Emerald, The National, Delorean and Agnes Obel.

Congrats!

Platinum selling British pop star Eliza Doolittle will have her first headline show in Finland on March 8th at Tavastia in Helsinki. Listen to her debut album and win tickets to see her perform live.

Eliza Doolittle’s self-titled album was released on 12 July 2010. It was number 3 in the UK charts and it still is on Top 10 in the UK album charts over six months after the release. Since the album’s release, Doolittle has had great success also in the singles charts with her singles “Skinny Genes” and “Pack Up”.