Spotify said Thursday that it now serves more than 3 million active paid subscribers per month, up from the 2.5 million subscribers it was serving in November. More than 20% of its active users pay for premium monthly access, the Financial Times said, which allows users to listen to an unlimited songs without ads or use Spotify on a smartphone. “We have achieved some pretty great results in terms of the ratio of paid users,” Spotify’s chief content officer and US managing director, Ken Parks said in a...

Research In Motion announced on Wednesday that its BBM Music service will launch Wednesday in the United States, Canada and Australia. To begin, users can opt to sign up for a BBM Music Premium membership, which will allow them to access music and share with friends on their BBM contact lists. BBM Music Premium members will be able to select 50 initial songs from a library of millions. Members will then be able to view and play the 50 songs selected by other BBM Music Premium members in their contact list. A ...

After disagreements over new contracts, 45,000 Verizon workers, or roughly 25% of the company’s workforce, went on strike on August 7th. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers refuse to pay a $100 monthly premium on their health benefits and do not agree with other contract terms, but now they may have no benefits at all. Verizon is threatening to pull all health benefits from any employees who are still striking on August 31st. Verizon has already ...

Spotify, the trendy music on demand service that has garnered tremendous media attention in Europe, has finally launched in the U.S. as rumored last week. Spotify announced earlier this month that it would become available in the U.S. “soon,” though open negotiations with Warner Music Group were reportedly preventing the company from setting a firm launch date. Apparently Warner finally came around. The Spotify service lets users stream unlimited music on demand, and also build and share playlist...

Sony’s Music Unlimited service powered by Qriocity is now available for Android smartphones. The service originally made its debut in Europe back in December 2010 and launched in the United States this past January. The Music Unlimited for Android app comes with a 30-day free trial, granting users access to more than 7 million songs that can be synced from a PC. After the 30-day trial users will have to plop down $3.99 or $9.99 per month for the basic or full blown premium services, respectively. As you...

CBS-owned Last.fm announced on Monday that it will soon discontinue its free ad-supported streaming music service for cell phones and home entertainment devices. Last.fm is a custom Internet radio service that competes with the likes of Pandora and Slacker Radio. The service currently streams to computers, to cell phones and to various home entertainment devices such as DVD players and set-top boxes, with two available subscription models — a free ad-supported version and an ad-free version for $3 per month...

BGR has obtained a memo being sent around to third-party Sprint retailers that sheds a bit more light on the company’s recently announced $10 Premium Data fee. The fee will be applied on all lines that upgrade to or activate a new smartphone after January 30th. The $10 tariff will apply to all individual lines and all family plan lines — so three smartphones on a family plan using equals an extra $30 per month. The memo states that the move will allow Sprint to “offer simple and affordable unli...

Last month, we told you about Bell Mobility’s plans to charge a $10 premium for access to the highest speeds on its HSPA+ network. This month, it looks like that report is becoming a reality. BGR has obtained a memo that indicates that Bell will launch the Novatel Wireless U547 data stick — capable of 42Mbps speeds — on November 23rd. The memo boasts that the U547 will be able to achieve real-world downlinks ranging from  7Mbps to 14Mbps in select markets; at launch, Toronto will be the...

We’re not sure if we should blame U.S. wireless carrier Sprint for coming up with this idea, or Bell Canada for running with it. BGR has just obtained a memo that indicates Bell customers will have to fork over a $10 per month premium for access to the company’s HSPA+ wireless network. The memo seems to indicate that the first set of devices to succumb to this fate will be a “Turbo Stick” and “Turbo Hub”; the memo is vague enough (mentioning “high speed devices̶...

When Dell first revealed to the world it would be introducing a premium laptop line dubbed Adamo, we had pretty high expectations. Metal cases, lightning-fast processors supported by gobs of RAM and so on. When the announcement of Dell’s first Adamo laptop finally came, we have to say we were a bit underwhelmed — the premium price tag and fantastic build both are there, but the specs are basically on par with a laptop circa 2002. Next up, Samsung’s new “premium netbook” announced...