Spotify desktop app lets users listen offline

With an update like this, what's the point in paying for single digital music downloads?

Spotify, a music streaming service which has raised much attention in the sector, is yet again launching more features which could pose a threat to the Apple iTune's business model.  

The new set of features will allow users to listen to music offline.  According to the Spotify blog,

"Starting today, Spotify Premium subscribers will be able to select their playlists and set them to be ‘Available offline’. Those playlists will then be synced to your computer so you can continue to listen to your favorite tunes if you have a slow connection or even if you have no connection at all. Each computer will be able to store up to 3,333 tracks at a time."

Basically, it's enabling downloads so say you're up on a plane with no Internet connection and want to listen to some of the music from your Spotify Premium account, well now you can.  

One can look at it as an estimated $3,333 worth of iTunes music, or if signed up to Spotify a small fee of $15.94.  I think I'd take the latter, although Spotify is not available in the US yet, only in Europe.  The company is planning to launch its services here in Q4 of this year.

And Spotify's library keeps growing.  It said it has around 6 million songs and just added another 75,000. 

Apple recently approved Spotify's on-demand music streaming App, (available in Europe), which allows users similar functionality to the updated desktop application.  It lets users cache up to 3,333 songs for offline listening as well.