Shoring up rumors on the matter, Spotify and Uber on Monday announced a partnership that lets Uber riders choose the music they want to listen to as they’re being whisked away to their destination. Here’s how it works.
Users can connect their Spotify Premium account from their Uber profile screen (or sign up for Spotify if they don’t yet have it – Uber is offering a free week trial of Spotify Premium). Then, simply hail a ride in the Uber app. Should you get matched up with a music-enabled Uber driver, a music bar will appear at the bottom of the Uber app.
Tap the music bar to select music from your Spotify playlists, search for new tunes or perhaps try one of Uber’s ready-made playlists. Riders have the ability to play DJ during their ride either from the Uber app or the Spotify app through the duration of the trip.
The partnership is rolling out to all Uber and Spotify Premium users on Android (still in beta) and iOS starting November 21 in 10 cities (London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Stockholm, Toronto and Sydney) before gradually rolling out to other markets in the coming weeks.
In related Spotify news, developer Ethan Lee has found a snippet of code in the latest test version of Spotify’s app that explicitly references podcast subscriptions and something else simply known as “Magic.” The podcast integration could be in response to rival Deezer purchasing podcast specialist Stitcher last month and as for what magic is, your guess is as good as mine.
