spotify

Waiting for Spotify, act gazillion and one

For anyone following the attempts by European music service Spotify to launch in the United States, it should be plain that the company and supporters are trying hard to rally support among music aficionados.

All the headlines about Spotify have teased a potential American audience for months. The latest example came yesterday when the blog Music Ally reported that Spotify, which is attempting to obtain the music licenses and launch a U.S. service, has paid about 40 million euros, or the equivalent of $55 million, to music rights holders since launching there two years ago. The blog also wrote … Read more

Spotify closing in on label deals

The four major record labels are warming up to Spotify, the popular European streaming music service trying to launch in the United States.

Spotify is still without signed contracts to license music from any top label and there are still numerous points to be negotiated, but the company has never been closer to finalizing deals than now, said multiple sources with knowledge of the talks.

One of the ways that Spotify has stirred the labels is by offering big money advances, the sources said. The amount could not be verified. Spokespeople for Spotify and the labels either were not immediately … Read more

Spotify says no acquisition talks with Apple

Contrary to a published report, Apple has not talked with Spotify about acquiring the European digital music service, a Spotify spokesman said today.

TechCrunch reported it had received an anonymous tip that Apple had approached Spotify about a possible acquisition. TechCrunch said that it had "dug into" the information and it had checked out.

"Apple and Spotify are in on-again, off-again discussions about an acquisition, but at best it's very early in the process," TechCrunch wrote. "No firm price has been offered, no term sheet tabled. Still, it's interesting that the two are … Read more

Stats don't support hype: Digital music is ailing

commentary If you want to get a sense of both the wishful thinking and the likeliness of dashed dreams for people investing in the digital-music business, click over to your Netflix queue and rent a copy of the 1962 musical "The Music Man."

Humor me here: "The Music Man," first a Broadway play, tells the story of a traveling huckster who convinces people in small towns that he can teach their tin-eared kids to play a musical instrument--all he needs is money to buy their trumpets and whatnot. And what happens once they give him his … Read more

Spotify crashes into Apple on way to U.S.

These are some swinging Swedes, the guys at Spotify.

Founded in Stockholm in 2006, Spotify is is an online streaming music service that has already conquered Europe with the help of a revolutionary desktop service and now desperately wants to make the jump to the United States.

And it's probably safe to say many American music fans want that to happen too. Yet, despite immense anticipation for the service here, the company has already failed to meet two promised launch dates. The new self-imposed deadline is for the end of the year. Spotify managers say that by then they'… Read more

The end of Digital Noise

All albums eventually come to an end--even super-gonzo triple live CD sets--and the time has come for this blog to end as well.

I've had a great time exploring the intersection of music and technology for the last three-plus years. And even though the music industry is going through some wrenching changes, the public's interest in music has, if anything, gotten stronger.

I was at Coachella this April along with a record sold-out crowd of more than 90,000. Some of them were there for the party, but the musical lineup made the party happen. I've seen … Read more

Microsoft looks to hit the Spotify

Microsoft said today that popular European music service Spotify will be coming to Windows Phone 7, as well as Microsoft's older Windows Mobile 6 generation phones.

The move gives Microsoft another music partner as it prepares to launch Windows Phone 7. Start-up Soundtrackr also is readying a Windows Phone 7 application, but, as first reported by CNET, Pandora won't have a Windows Phone 7 app at launch, despite a full-court press from Microsoft's top executives.

"Spotify is a great example of software innovation emanating from Sweden and Europe," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a … Read more

Rhapsody move revs up independence march

Subscription music pioneer Rhapsody was spun out from joint owners RealNetworks and Viacom in April, and it immediately declared its independence by dropping the price of its mobile service from $15 to $10 per month. Since then, the service has introduced offline playback to its iPhone application--critical, if you want to be able to get the most out of your subscription while on AT&T's notoriously flaky 3G network--and successfully launched an Android version, which will be getting offline playback shortly.

Tomorrow, the company is set to announce that it's moving its streaming service from several data … Read more

Will Spotify's U.S. launch be delayed again?

Spotify, the European music service that drops the jaws of all who try it, is at risk of blowing another self-imposed deadline for launching in the United States.

While CEO Daniel Ek has promised that Spotify will finally launch before the end of 2010, the company has yet to sign a single licensing agreement with any of the top four record companies, multiple music industry sources told CNET. Sure, Spotify can claim many admirers at the top labels and some progress in the negotiations, but time is running out.

Music licensing deals are complex and typically can't be slapped … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1283: Lying liars and the phones they sell us (podcast)

On today's show, Verizon tries to claim the Motorola Droid doesn't have the hardware to support hotspot tethering with Froyo. And here's the thing: that's a lie. In other news, the BlackBerry Torch hits, Rdio lands, and the FBI is cracking down on coloring books. Or something. I'm a tiny bit incoherent today.