Digital Music News - But Wait. Spotify "Vehemently Denies" Reports of US Licensing Standstill...

But Wait. Spotify "Vehemently Denies" Reports of US Licensing Standstill...

Friday, July 30, 2010
by presnikoff

Spotify has 99 problems, but US label licensing snags are not one of them - at least according to the company. Earlier, Billboard noted that discussions with US labels are "back to square one," though Spotify is now "vehemently denying" those characterizations. "Any talk of 'back to square one' is completely unfounded speculation and quite simply not true," a Spotify spokesperson told the Telegraph.

Spotify also denied that Napster and Facebook cofounder Sean Parker is planning to lead US efforts. That was characterized as "completely untrue," and the company further reaffirmed a launch by the end of this year.

So what to believe? US-based licensing discussions have been difficult, and there is little to suggest that labels like Warner Music are willing to dance the freemium dance. The rest seems like guesswork - even for Spotify - and a string of earlier launch projections have come and gone.

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Comments (9)

Maxwellian Friday, July 30, 2010

I really don't think Spotify has the ability to get these deals done. We've been sitting here for what - years? - and nothing? Bronfman said no, so what's next?

elCezou Monday, August 02, 2010

I'm French, and I'm using Spotify for now almost a year. I began with the free invitational suscription, and quickly moved to the premium offer - without commercial interuption. I must say Ijust can live whithout now... I have all my music, all my playlists, it's quick and I can load it on my mobile. I usually don't become a fan of a brand or a company and use to switch without problem. I was using Deezer, Groovershark, Napster and other but I am definetely Spotify now. I know it sounds a bit like I am working for them, but I am just convinced by the service. I hope they will make it and that you can try it. wait and see.

JacksonL Friday, July 30, 2010

It's too bad.

So much hype, at least let me try it and decide!

spotifyh8r Sunday, August 01, 2010

spotify is everything that's wrong with silicon valley concept startups. of course everyone wants a free ride, wow it's like handing out free mercedez and then trying to figure out how to monetize. Ek's just a child, at least the labels are trying to make money.

What's up? Monday, August 02, 2010

Spotify is fantastic. Do the maths label execs. It won't destroy your bottom line. Just give it a go, you can always pull it down if it's not working. If you REALLY saw the Youtube balance sheet, you would not hesitate. That's the model and Google are doing ok....

HansH Monday, August 02, 2010

I agree Spotify is fantastic and doing very well in Europe. Just you wait and see. Others may have failed but Spotify is a league of its own.

spotifyh8r Tuesday, August 03, 2010

HansH

really, i think you need to qualify this success you talk about. they've lowered their sub. price, and most are in for free. charge tomorrow and you have no business in Europe,

CraigDiPaolo Monday, August 02, 2010

I don't think it matters how excellent the service is, in my opinion. There's nothing that suggests that people are willing to pay monthly amounts for music recordings on demand, as bad as that reality is. Some are gonna pay, I don't think it scales though. It seems that some will pay this amount, but a monthly payment also has lots of strings attached, and your entire collection is out the window if you can't afford it anymore.

Plus everyone's broke, which doesn't help matters!

snfubar Monday, August 02, 2010

@ SXSW this I asked Daniel Ek how much activity it would take on Spotify to earn just one US dollar... his response, "I don't know"...

I pushed... can you give me a range? 10,000 plays? 1,000? 100,000?

he replied again, "I don't know"...

that was the moment I stopped believing...

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