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Spotify U.S. Launch Imminent, Raises $100m Round

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Apr 12, 2001
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Spotify is finally (almost) ready to launch in the U.S., closing deals with three of the four big music labels -- Warner Music, predictably, is the lone holdout -- and a massive funding round, raising $100 million at a $1 billion valuation.

Spotify is a freemium music service, offering both free and paid subscription offerings, similar to Pandora. Spotify lets users listen to whatever songs they wish, in whatever order they wish, rather than building "channels" of like music on Pandora.

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Spotify has a significant presence in Europe, with more than 1 million paid subscribers and 6 million ad-supported free users. In the US, it may face a more uphill climb with heavy new competition from from Google, Amazon, and Apple, plus there are existing music services from Rhapsody and the aforementioned Pandora. In fact, Apple has been rumored to have made efforts to prevent Spotify from being able to launch in the U.S.

Spotify plans to charge around $10 per month for its premium service, and allows users to stream millions of songs they don't own.

The company, founded in Sweden but based in London, raised $100 million from Digital Sky Technologies, Accel and Kleiner Perkins, all heavy hitters in the venture game. DST is a major investor in Facebook, which might help the two companies to make a deal. Spotify and Facebook are working on a "significant integration" according to All Things D's Peter Kafka, though that isn't tied to the U.S. launch. Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a known Spotify fan.

Spotify has a decent war-chest, plus proven success and buzz from its European operations. If it can ink a deal with Warner, it might actually, finally, launch on this side of the pond.

Article Link: Spotify U.S. Launch Imminent, Raises $100m Round
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/17/spotify-u-s-launch-imminent-raises-100m-round/
Hmmm... $25 for iTunes match, or $10 for Spotify...... For once, I might not go the Apple route.

"Apple has been rumored to have made efforts to prevent Spotify from being able to launch in the U.S."... Wow so Apple's just being Apple. I get it now.
 
It's gonna take a lot to move me away from Rhapsody since I use it on all my iOS devices as well as my Sonos setup. Even if Apple can bring a streaming service to the table, it will need to work with my Sonos or it's a no go. I no longer purchase music since I have Rhapsody.
 
Congrats, now you can partake in the awesome that is Spotify. It's a great music service, I've been happily paying for two years now.

I know that I'm just "renting" music, but it's so convenient to just be able to search for a song and listen to it in good quality immidiately. It's easier than pirating. :)
 
Still no ipad app...and the iphone app sucks cheese balls. After all this time why is the software still so crappy......? I can only think they want to balance paying users against royalties paid out......i.e. the software is so crappy people don't use it so much !
 
bb426 said:
Hmmm... $25 for iTunes match, or $10 for Spotify...... For once, I might not go the Apple route.

"Apple has been rumored to have made efforts to prevent Spotify from being able to launch in the U.S."... Wow so Apple's just being Apple. I get it now.
Click to expand...

$25/year vs $10/month :)

But they are very different services.

arn
 
bb426 said:
Hmmm... $25 for iTunes match, or $10 for Spotify...... For once, I might not go the Apple route.

"Apple has been rumored to have made efforts to prevent Spotify from being able to launch in the U.S."... Wow so Apple's just being Apple. I get it now.
Click to expand...

Uh, and by that you mean $25 for iTunes Match, or $120 for Spotify, right? $10 is per month.
 
They took too long, although it wasn't Spotify fault. I've been using Rdio and it's been pretty good so far.
 
It's amazing how much of an edge they've lost in the US. When I first demoed Spotify there was nothing that was as clean, polished, and easy to use as Spotify. Then during the years it took to get to the US market, lots of competitors have come to market, and now I'm not so sure I'll be leaving Rdio.

The only feature right now that I'd consider switching for is that you can add your mp3 files to the Spotify app on your iPhone. That way I can listen to my obscure stuff that Spotify doesn't have and still have my streaming music all in the same playlist.
 
Hope it doesn't go the way of Pandora.

It's funny, with the internet stations taking over by ads (such as Pandora), I am now listening to more traditional radio on the iPad.
 
People are here suggesting Pandora and Rhapsody (BLECK!).


I suggest Grooveshark. Use it once and Pandora is history.
 
bb426 said:
Hmmm... $25 for iTunes match, or $10 for Spotify...... For once, I might not go the Apple route.

"Apple has been rumored to have made efforts to prevent Spotify from being able to launch in the U.S."... Wow so Apple's just being Apple. I get it now.
Click to expand...

25 dollars a YEAR for iTunes Match
10 dollars a MONTH for Spotify.
 
I appreciate services like Rdio, MOG, and Spotify. I just wish there was a way for them to integrate into the music app. It kind of sucks having all of your music and then have to switch to another app to hear more.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8J2)

Hi spotify does work on Sonos here in the UK, so im guessing it will for you guys too.
Ps....the iphone app does suck cheese balls!
 
Spotify is owning Apple here, Spotify is just amazing! tbh, im going with the apple match because im an apple freak, but Spotify is really great! welcome to the 21 century America!

We in scandinavia have been there along time now!
 
I use Spotify and it's a great service. Millions of tracks at my disposal on my Mac for £4.99 a month. Worth it in my opinion.
 
Spotify is awful for the music industry in my opinion. No one will be making any money if it becomes mainstream. To think of all the musicians that have complained over the iTunes pay per song model, wait until you are collecting pennies on streaming royalties.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

I am considering going to a subscription service. I just finished up my free trial with Rhapsody and am now testing rdio. I liked Rhapsody, but the iOS app crashed several times. All in all they seem pretty comparable thus far. So Spotify would be a nice addition for me at this time.

Anyone have any reasons why they prefer rdio, Rhapsody, Napster or MOG? Which do you use and why?
 
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