Spotify launch new features with Metallica's help (pictures)

1 of 6Ty Pendlebury/CBS interactive

Spotify launches new look, adds Metallica

Spotify unveiled a new browser-based streaming service in New York today while also announcing the Metallica back-catalog was immediately available to stream.

Spotify head Daniel Ek announced the new features, which will appear over the next month or so, AND include Follow, Audio Previews, and The Collection.

The Audio Preview feature will let you hear new music without erasing the playlist you've made, while Follow allows you to add friends or artists and listen to their playlists. Of interest to album lovers will be the ability to view your collection as albums with cover art rather than as a lengthy list.

Ek said a full cross-platform upgrade will be coming early in 2013.

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...And Justice For All

Daniel Ek gives the thumbs-up to Metallica's Lars Ulrich as he goes in for the hug while Napster's founder Sean Parker looks on.

3 of 6Greg Sandoval/CBS Interactive

Metallica and Napster kiss and make up

Sean Parker, one of founders of Napster, now a shareholder of Spotify, is photographed with Metallica's Lars Ulrich. The two buried the hatchet over their infamous 2000 legal fight. Ulrich announced the band now owns its back catalog and is free to pursue deals with services such as Spotify.

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Discover tab

Daniel Ek explains the Discover tab which "provides a feed that continually seeks out the most relevant content using technology and social tools, bringing recommendations right to the user".

5 of 6Ty Pendlebury/CBS interactive

Ek said he was a music lover at heart and that Spotify should be a gateway to music ownership: "I do happen to be one of those guys who streams and buys vinyls", he said.

As far as the business was concerned Ek told the crowd that the number of US subscriptions had grown to 1 million and that the company has paid over $500 million to rights holders, or 70 per cent of the company's revenue.