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Spotify takes to the sky with United
For the first time, the music streamer is making its audiobooks and video podcasts available on an airline. Music will follow.
United Airlines and Spotify will collaborate to deliver more than 450 hours of the streaming service’s content on the airline’s seatback screens, at no cost to travellers.
This is the first time Spotify has offered audiobooks and video podcasts onboard an airline, as it prepares to reach more than 130,000 screens, many of which offer 4K quality and Bluetooth audio compatibility.
Initially, the service will include more than 65 pieces of content, including popular titles like Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Dave Chang Show, and The Comment Section with Drew Afualo.
From next year, United passengers will also be able to use their personal devices to log into the Spotify app on the inflight entertainment screen. This will allow them to enjoy personalised content on the seatback, so that they can pick-up podcasts, music, and audiobooks from where they left off on the ground.
“Spotify has a huge audience and people love their content,” said Richard Nunn, CEO of MileagePlus, the United rewards programme. “And now our customers can enjoy it all in a simple and easy way, at 35,000 feet. Together, we’re giving millions of customers an entirely new way to experience and explore premium content from the world’s most popular artists, authors and podcasters.”
Ian Geller, VP of business development at Spotify, said: “We’re dedicated to being everywhere our users are, giving creators opportunities to reach new platforms and engage different audiences. I’m especially looking forward to bringing an even more personalsed app streaming experience to seatbacks next year.”
Onboard experience
Spotify content will be available on more than 680 United aircraft and appear as a new content category, under the menu item, “Spotify.” This replaces “audio” under the home menu and includes the sub-channels ‘Podcast’, ‘Video Podcasts’, ‘Audiobooks’, and ‘Playlists’. In the coming months, a majority of aircraft will receive a dedicated Spotify featured channel, where all Spotify content will be housed together for quick and easy access.
On Starlink-equipped aircraft, travellers will be able to stream Spotify content on their personal devices from gate-to-gate without interruption. They will only need to log in to a MileagePlus account and accept the terms and conditions for using Starlink. From there, travellers can open their Spotify app and stream content, as they do at home.
- For more information, visit united.com/spotify
