Spotify partners with Virgin America for in-air streaming

[NEW YORK] Music streaming leader Spotify said Tuesday it would put its entire catalog on Virgin America flights in its first US airline partnership.

Virgin America, which is partially owned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group and markets itself as a fashionable carrier, said that Spotify's catalog of more than 30 million songs would be available on select flights equipped with its advanced ViaSat WiFi through March 2.

Spotify, which says it has 75 million users including 20 million who pay for advertising-free music, hopes to use the partnership to gain new subscribers.

"We're dedicated to finding ways to bring music into every part of consumers' lives, wherever they are, whatever they're doing, whatever their mood," Erin Clift, the Swedish-founded company's vice president for global marketing and partnerships, said in a statement.

Spotify has been seeking partnerships with other major brands as competition intensifies in streaming.

Another US carrier, Southwest Airlines, last year formed a sponsorship with Apple's streaming service to allow passengers to choose playlists of songs.

Spotify has teamed up with Uber to let passengers in the fast-growing ride-sharing service select music for their journeys.

The streaming company earlier teamed up with British Airways on a series of "music travel guides" for some of the airline's destinations.

AFP