By The Looks Of It, Spotify Might Be Coming To America Sooner Than Expected
Spotify’s much-touted disembark on American shores finally picks up some pace. The company has managed to sign a deal with Universal Music. This means that the one and only company that stands between Spotify and America is the typically-conservative Warner Music Group. By now, Spotify has already managed to nail deals with UMG, EMI and Sony.
The Warner deal itself might not be that hard to sign, actually. All four major labels have recently signed with Apple for its iTunes to the Cloud and iTunes Match services. This is a clear indicator that the majors are opening up to the concept of digital music. I know, I know – the European streaming service and Apple are in entirely different leagues. But that is something of a precedent all the same.
One thing’s for sure: if the Warner deal comes through, it will involve some kind of heavy compromise. Let’s see how Spotify can handle that – remember, it has already angered punters by cutting on the amount of music that can be streamed for free.
Stay tuned for the latest developments. This might as well turn to be one of the hottest stories of the year as far as digital music is concerned.
