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Thread started 12/08/10 5:29pm

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Spotify's U.S. Launch Delayed Again

[img:$uid]http://i51.tinypic.com/20037eu.jpg[/img:$uid]

December 8, 2010

The buzz-worthy European music service remains stuck in negotiations with record labels for the right to enter the US market.

Will the free music service Spotify be the next great casualty of the US record industry's continued misunderstanding and fear of digital music distribution?

When founder and CEO Daniel Ek spoke at South by Southwest last spring, he said negotiations with the labels were progressing, and that Spotify would launch on desktop and mobile platforms in the US this year.

Ek, speaking at WSJ's Dive Into Mobile event today, now says he "can't commit" to a 2010 launch.

Spotify garnered worldwide attention because of the unprecedented rights and control the music service gives users for little or no cost.

Most of Spotify's users pay nothing for the service, but can play any music they want--on demand--in exchange for viewing some ads. Only about 750,000, or about 7.5 percent, of Spotify customers actually pay for the service. Still that's up from the 320,000 who were paying at the time of SXSW last spring.

In Europe, Spotify customers can choose to pay about $13 USD per month for unlimited access to the Spotify library of more than 10 million tracks.

Spotify is now trying to sell a music subscription service, in which users can sample music for free but must pay a $10/month fee for the right to download it. Several other music services are using the same model, including MOG and Rhapsody.

But Spotify got a much better royalties deal from the labels in Europe, and can't get the same terms in the US market, which accounts for about half of worldwide music sales. So what's the problem? What's preventing a deal from being struck? In a word, fear.

Ek has a more delicate way of saying it: "We are in a really interesting time right now. They [the labels] are still trying to get their heads around the space. They are seeing what we are seeing, with mobile and social. They want to make sure that if this is going to move on to be the next thing they want make sure they are setting the right precedents with free models, ad models, subscription models."

http://www.pcworld.com/ar...r_all.html

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Reply #1 posted 12/08/10 5:53pm

Timmy84

rolleyes lol

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Reply #2 posted 12/08/10 6:00pm

errant

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so once again, they're going to sit around and avoid these things instead of taking advantage of them, until they've made themselves even more irrelevant and unprofitable and all the technology has moved on from a system they have a hand in or can control outright.

way to go.

"does my cock look fat in these jeans?"
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Reply #3 posted 12/08/10 6:02pm

Timmy84

errant said:

so once again, they're going to sit around and avoid these things instead of taking advantage of them, until they've made themselves even more irrelevant and unprofitable and all the technology has moved on from a system they have a hand in or can control outright.

way to go.

They're that clueless. lol

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Reply #4 posted 12/08/10 7:23pm

Militant

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Spotify is absolutely incredible. Once you guys get it, I promise it will change your life. I bought a premium subscription last month and it is SO worth it. I was even able to use it in the US that way. (If you're a paying customer in a country that has Spotify, you can use it while travelling too).

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Reply #5 posted 12/09/10 4:38am

JoeTyler

he he hehe lol

tinkerbell
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Reply #6 posted 12/09/10 4:40am

JoeTyler

By the way, "illegally", you can download/use Spotify whenever you want to...

just sayin' whistling

tinkerbell
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Reply #7 posted 12/09/10 5:26pm

Timmy84

^ giggle

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Reply #8 posted 12/09/10 5:49pm

JoeTyler

Timmy84 said:

^ giggle

hi hi

and it's not even that illegal, it's the free version, full of irritating 30seconds ads between the songs... lol

tinkerbell
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Reply #9 posted 12/09/10 5:51pm

Timmy84

JoeTyler said:

Timmy84 said:

^ giggle

hi hi

and it's not even that illegal, it's the free version, full of irritating 30seconds ads between the songs... lol

lol I can withstand those seconds anyways.

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Reply #10 posted 12/09/10 6:26pm

Militant

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The ads are tolerable, yeah.

I bought the premium mainly for the exclusives (most hot new albums are only available on Premium for a few weeks after they get released), the higher bitrate, and the ability to use the mobile Spotify app for Android. You have to premium to use the app on any mobile platform. The lack of ads on premium is a nice bonus also when you use it as much as I do though lol

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