Column: Apple iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify users will be wooed

 Spotify made headlines last week following its Dec. 11 announcement that it now offers mobile users free on-demand streaming access. With the change, tablet users can listen to playlists and artists of their choosing, replicating an experience once available only using a desktop computer. (Smartphone users can also create playlists with this change, but they must listen to their playlists in shuffle mode.)

Though these free options still require that listeners tolerate advertising interruptions every few songs, the $10-per-month fee that Spotify mobile users were once required to pay to access on-demand listening features has been removed, presenting a free, tangible benefit over competitors like Pandora, iTunes Radio from Apple, All Access by Google, and Xbox Music from Microsoft.