Spotify publicly hints US launch in July
updated 08:35 am EDT, Fri June 17, 2011
Spotify music streaming service to launch in July
Spotify has publicly hinted that it will finally launch is long expected streaming music service in July. The most successful platform of its kind in Europe with over one million paid subscribers, Spotify has now landed the remaining deals it with record companies necessary to launch the service in the US. "We're signing the remaining deals as I speak," said Spotifiy’s Jonathan Forster talking to media in London. Forster added that "We won't launch before July 5.”
The Spotify platform has two principal methods of generating income and attracting users. Its “freemium service,” used by over 10 million users already, is an ad-supported streaming model. Its ad-free service offers users unlimited music streaming for a monthly subscription fee. In Europe, these users pay around ten Euros per month.
The company, which was founded in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, will aim to take on competing services already established in the US including Rdio, Mog and Slacker. Although Apple’s iTunes does not currently offer a subscription model, it is likely that Cupertino will closely monitor what is likely to be a potential threat to its current dominance in the US digital music market. [via Silicon Valley Watcher]
