Unlike its competitors, which include MOG, Rhapsody, Rdio and Sony's Music Unlimited, Spotify does not have a browser-based offering for its service, instead requiring users to use the Spotify desktop client or mobile apps.
As first reported by TechCrunch, a browser-based version of the service is nearing release. Sources close to Spotify who weren't authorized to speak publicly confirmed to Mashable that a web version of the music player is coming. The goal is to launch in October.
To us, the biggest advantage of a web version of Spotify will be the fact that the Spotify Play Button won't require a user to have the Spotify app running in order to play back tunes. Likewise, playing Spotify links on sites such as Facebook can also happen client-free.
Sources tell us that better integration with the Play Button and social music sites is the real goal behind the web version, rather than looking to supplant the desktop client. Spotify Apps won't work with the web version -- at least, not initially -- and features such as offline listening will remain restricted to the desktop software.
Speaking of Spotify Apps -- we've been hearing rumblings for several months that support for select discovery apps is coming to Spotify Mobile. The goal is to help address the major pain-point that exists across subscription music services: discovery.
The best Spotify Apps -- including HypeMachine and KCRW's Music Mine -- focus on music discovery, but this is an area with lots of room for improvement. Making discovery better on mobile devices is definitely one of Spotify's long-term goals.
Are you excited about a web-based version of Spotify? Let us know in the comments.