Spotify is heating up the streaming music competition with the announcement of Spotify Family [1], which will allow users to add four additional Premium accounts for half the price of a normal subscription. Rdio [2] has had a family option for over a year now, and Spotify is finally catching up.

Spotify Family, which launches soon (no exact date yet), offers a 50 percent discount per additional member. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from joining a family plan with your friends, which we highly recommend because the savings are steep. The maximum discounted price is $30 for five Spotify subscriptions, or $6 each. With individual plans priced at $10 per month, being in a Spotify Family plan would save you $48 per year.

Compared to the most popular streaming services, Spotify Family is the cheapest monthly price for an ad-free, unlimited subscription. For instance, on Rdio, the same plan for five memberships costs $33, or $6.60 each. And neither Google Play nor Beats Music offers such a group discount.

Will Spotify's new deal prompt you to make the switch at last?