Spotify on the brink of securing $50m investment

Written by Editor | Published on August 4, 2009

newsThe Financial Times (London) reveals that big investment Spotify wanted a few weeks back is almost sorted:

The Li Ka Shing Foundation, the Hong Kong tycoon’s charitable arm; Wellington Partners, London-based venture capitalists, and others are closing in on a total investment of up to $50m, a bigger amount than expected that values Spotify at $250m (£148m), according to people familiar with the process.

Of this, the service was set to raise about $20m from Wellington and existing backers.

Useful. Another snippet of pleasing information:

It is also talking to another strategic investor, which analysts said was likely to be from the music industry. Spotify has to pay a royalty for every song it plays, regardless of advertising revenue. Selling a stake to a record label would allow it to negotiate better terms.

Posted in News | Tagged , , ,  | Leave a comment

Microsoft Spotify clone delayed

Written by Editor | Published on August 2, 2009

That Microsoft streaming music service should be out by now. Yes, I’d forgotten too, but T3 reminded me:

News broke in July that the titan was planning a free music service, and that it would adorn our PCs at the end of July. It’s now the 1st of August and we’re still waiting

Oh dear! Looks like it might not be around for some time, if this comment is anything to go by:

A Microsoft spokesperson noted “In the coming months, MSN [Microsoft’s news and entertainment portal] is planning a new music service in beta via its [MSN] Music channel in the UK. At this stage we won’t be confirming the details behind this but more information will be available soon and will be communicated in due course.”

That sounds like a project that’s not even near completion. All begs the question: why did they say it would be out in a month?

T3 themselves point out that Microsoft’s iPod killer, Zune, took ages (and ages) to eventually surface. And didn’t kill the iPod. Not even a dead leg.

Posted in Competition | Tagged , ,  | Leave a comment

First Spotifailwhale day?

Written by Editor | Published on July 31, 2009

Quick post because I don’t know the full story. But Spotify keeps hanging today, and a quick look on Twitter suggests many others are having problems too. Hoping the service isn’t buckling under all the new users it undoubtedly gained following the iPhone app announcement.

Posted in Software  | Leave a comment

Spotify’s latest headache: streaming music forbidden on O2 network

Written by Editor | Published on July 29, 2009

o2logoThe past two days have been dominated by the announcement that Spotify is coming to the iPhone. Hopefully. It all depends on Apple, and whether they’ll let it through.

Let’s assume, for the sake of example (and hope), that Apple do indeed allow Spotify into the app store. Will users even be allowed to use it? Like the AT&T deal in the States, the iPhone is tied to a single network in the UK: O2.

Tucked away in the O2 terms and conditions, if you can be bothered to look, is this bombshell:

You may not use your SIM Card:

  • in, or connected to, any other device including modems;
  • to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing; or
  • in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers.

We’ve all been talking about whether Apple will allow it, but will O2? I’ve been in touch – hopefully we can find out.

Posted in Mobile | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Apple blocks Google Voice app, Spotify next?

Written by Editor | Published on July 28, 2009

Worrying precedent set by Apple today. From the Guardian:

Apple has rejected the Google’s Voice application for the iPhone saying that it duplicated features in the popular smart phone. The move has called into question the control that Apple exerts over approving applications and whether the rejection and others constitute anti-competitive behaviour.

Does Spotify duplicate an existing iPhone feature?

Posted in Mobile | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Spotify iPhone app release “within days”

Written by Editor | Published on July 27, 2009

newsIt’s almost here! From BBC News:

The Swedish music streaming service Spotify is planning to launch its first mobile application within days.

The company has submitted the application to Apple’s iTunes App Store for its approval.

If given clearance, Spotify’s service will then be available for users to download onto iPhones.

From BBC News

From BBC News

Great! A post on the BBC’’s dot.life blog goes into greater depth:

I can now reveal – having played with a beta version for a few days – that the version submitted to Apple will allow users to take their existing playlists with them on the phone and to search over wi-fi or a 3G network for new tracks – but there’s another “killer app” to this app. It allows you to download songs or entire playlists so that you can take them with you on the phone – and listen even when you don’t have a signal or a wi-fi connection.

And there we have it. The business model. The model that’ll make any music lover think “Ah yes, that premium subscription is a very nice idea!”. Hopefully.

Still a few issues to overcome, though. Firstly, Apple may not even let it in the app store, so we may just be getting excited over nothing. But, as Rory Cellen-Jones points out in that post, Apple could be seen to be anti-competitive – which could lead to problems.

Second, if this app is only available for premium subscribers, then it could struggle to gather the mass appeal that the desktop client has. Perhaps the answer may be that it’s free to stream music, but in order to pre-load playlists for offline listening you have to be a subscriber. Seems like the decent middle ground to me.

UPDATE: Wired.com have a few more screenshots of the app in action here.

UPDATE 2: Here’s the app in all its glory. Looks great!

UPDATE 3: The app will, at least initially, be just for premium members. From the official Spotify blog:

Our iPhone version is very similar to the Spotify you’re already familiar with and will allow you to listen to your music even when you’re not connected to a network. The application should be available in a few weeks for premium subscribers – we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as it’s in AppStore.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Apple may be about to join the streaming music race

Written by Editor | Published on July 26, 2009

Have a read of this from Distorted-Loop.com:

Apple is clearly aware of the trend toward streaming music services, and is slowly switching its iPod range from being de facto players for owner’s own music libraries to being wireless connected devices capable of accessing such streams – a la iPod touch.

With the next big moment on Apple watcher’s radar being the customary autumn refresh of the iPod line-up, it’s no great surprise that giant US retailer Amazon is currently selling existing models at up to a 13 per cent discount, including 8 per cent off the cost of the iPod touch 32 GB, which now costs $369 (a $30.99 discount).

Discussion earlier this year focused on the notion Apple may soon offer digital lockers for iTunes user’s existing content – we now suspect a music streaming service from Apple may also be on the radar.

It’s a theory worthy of an extended beard-stroke. If Microsoft’s upcoming streaming service is Spotify’s headache, an Apple offensive may be its tumour. A good streaming service coupled with the best, most popular music devices would be something to be reckoned with. And Apple’s iTunes is considered the darling of the music industry. Labels trust Apple to bring in profits — probably more so, currently, than Daniel Ek and Spotify.

One to watch.

Posted in Rumours | Tagged , , ,  | Leave a comment

The Best of the Worst of Spotify

Written by Editor | Published on July 24, 2009

Been meaning to post this great blog for a while. The Best of the Worst of Spotify logs some of the utter tripe found on the service. Magical moments like Dr Rick Collingwood’s Beating Marijuana Addiction, or my personal favourite, Eilert Pilam’s Best of Elvis (right).

If you find any howlers, you can email or tweet your nightmare.

Posted in Links | Tagged  | Leave a comment

Wired: Spotify set to take America by storm

Written by Editor | Published on July 24, 2009

The imminent US launch is getting some massive press. This piece in Wired is the best so far:

“We feel very comfortable, in that the labels want to see Spotify in the U.S.,” said Ek. “Our hope is to get something up and running before the end of the year. We get around a thousand e-mails a week from people in the U.S. who want access to Spotify, so we know that there’s a demand for the product. It is important for us, though, to figure out the best execution, as we are very serious about being able to monetize the content that we license.”

Part of the plan, he added, involves opening an office in New York for a sales team to set up advertising deals to fund the free version of Spotify. As for the monthly fees for the 10-euro per month premium version (U.S. price unknown), which does away with ads, improves the (Ogg Vorbis) audio stream to 320 Kbps and should soon let users access their Spotify playlists through their mobile phones (as predicted).

Further on, some interesting points about advertising, and a potential patent problem from using Ogg Vorbis audio:

In order to boost ad revenue for itself and for record labels during a soft economy, Ek says, Spotify will target users based on location and other factors. He adds that the program’s clean, uncluttered interface makes ads “pop” all the more. He also pointed to an idea that doubled the effectiveness of Spotify ads from 0.5 percent to 1 percent click-through — displaying an image ad corresponding to an audio ad that plays in between songs.

Another potential wrinkle is Spotify’s use of the open-source Ogg Vorbis codec, rather than a proprietary format like MP3 (95 percent of Spotify comes from open-source code, according to Ek). This could open the company to patent claims. As one of the creators of the Ogg Vorbis codec told us in 2007, many companies fear using the open-source codec because it could infringe on the MP3 patent, which encompasses such obvious compression techniques as dropping all frequencies outside the human hearing range.

Posted in Buzz, Spotify US | Tagged , , ,  | Leave a comment

Will Apple allow a Spotify app?

Written by Editor | Published on July 23, 2009

If you went to McDonald’s, you wouldn’t expect to be offered a Whopper. But that’ll be the situation if Apple allow the Spotify app into their iPhone/iPod Touch app store.

From the London Evening Standard:

“We looked at the mobile market, and it just doesn’t make sense to stream music in the same way we do on a PC,” said Mr Sehr. Streaming directly to phones would rely on users always having a strong mobile phone signal, and could also overwhelm mobile networks if the service becomes too popular. For Londoners, there is another big problem: streaming wouldn’t work on the Tube.

“Users will be able to choose the playlists they want, and download them via their home wifi connection before they leave. For London, this was crucial, as we want people to be able to listen on the Tube.”

However, there could be a problem. To be successful in the mobile market, Spotify needs to be accessible via aniPhone and an iPod. Technically, this is no problem. The sticking point is that Apple must approve any software that runs on its iPhone and iPod, and even Spotify admit they are simply not sure if this will happen, as Apple’s iTunes music download store is such a direct competitor.

“We really don’t know if Apple will give us the go-ahead, and all we can do it submit our software then wait and see,” admits Mr Sehr. “It’s something of a black hole.”

Who know’s what’ll happen. One the one hand, the application will probably be extremely popular, which means lots of revenue for Apple through sales. But it’s a double-edged sword, of course, as an expanding Spotify could potentially mean fewer iTune store downloads.

On the other hand, will Apple want the iPhone to be the only mobile device that can’t have a Spotify app? Assuming that the app will be awesome, it would quickly become a critical factor in my choice of phone whether I could use the service or not.

Which leads to another point. Getting it on the iPhone is just one tiny battle for mobile music supremacy. What about Nokia? Aren’t they selling mobiles on the back of their rubbishy (so a friend says) music store too? How will they feel about Spotify coming along? Not that they’d have much choice, of course – you can put whatever you like on Nokia devices, unlike the ‘locked’ iPhone.

It’s set to be an interesting few months.

Posted in Mobile | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments
To the top!
credits
This blog is powered by Thematic Framework for WordPress. RXN Child Theme by altamente decorativo
© 2010