Spotify opens up to add-on apps from third parties

The internet music service Spotify is opening itself up to third party apps.

Developers will be able to write programs to add functionality to the music player, such as the ability to see lyrics or buy concert tickets from artists being listened to.

Founder Daniel Ek said he believed the move would be "game changing for music" adding that many subscribers had requested the feature.

Facebook has found success using a similar model.

Spotify teamed up with the social network earlier this year allowing its users to reveal which songs they were listening to via the website.

Spotify's decision poses a further challenge to Apple. Although the company dominates MP3 sales, its social network add-on Ping is not viewed as a success.

"We are truly launching integrated apps inside Spotify from the best and the brightest," said the firm's co-founder Daniel Ek.

"They can access all Spotify's features through an easy-to-use Java script API."

He added that the programs would be "seamlessly integrated" to the platform, both visually and in their functionality.

"The possibilities are truly endless," he said.

One of the apps unveiled at the New York press conference was the ability to read reviews from Rolling Stone.

The magazine said it was excited about the possibility of getting its content to more music listeners as soon as it was published.

Mr Ek said the apps would be available to all the firm's members, whether they paid for a subscription or used the free advertising-supported service.