The Uber Spotify partnership pulls in BMW, the third (Ford, Volvo) in the tie-in's connected car service outreach.
Uber Spotify service is now active in supported vehicles, as CEOs Travis Kalanick and Daniel Ek is set to announce the partnership today. One of several companies recently part of the service is BMW, integrating the service into its connected car platform.
Techcrunch reported news of the tie-in as early as last week, now confirmed. Apparently, the deal was being threshed out for a year; the first hint was a report Uber hired a French producer for an ad (currently unavailable).
Uber CEO Daniel Ek considers the Millenial generation as primary target of the service, at least for the meantime. In an interview: "Instead of doing car integrations, we thought about next generation...This is a way for us to reach a younger, a more millennial audience."
The Uber Spotify integration with BMW is a significant marketing strategy; the partnership will reach out to the high end niche. The BMW deal comes with Rolls-Royce and Mini vehicles to boot.
Connected car services is growing trend, especially in Millenials, and as more manufacturers roll out vehicles with similar services by the default, the Uber Spotify tie in is expected to come by default instead of as an option.
"For Uber, it's the first time we've personalized the music inside the car and for music lovers that's nirvana." (Kalanick)
The deal is expected to justify claims against Taylor Swifts allegation Spotify isn't compensating artists their worth. Business Editor of Complete Music Update Chris Cooke comments on a BBC interview:
"One of the big issues that was discussed following Taylor Swift's departure from Spotify was how streaming services can distinguish their paid-for level from their free level. Artists like Swift think that Spotify's free option gives too much away.
But by offering extra functionality like the in-car listening with Uber, Spotify might be able to persuade more people to upgrade to premium despite having a very generous freemium offer." (bbc.com)
