Streaming services are now a must-have item for every large media company with money to burn. Apple bought Beats, Twitter is searching for a smaller service to buy, and Amazon is about to launch their streaming service.
Google’s YouTube is also working on a music streaming service.
Now, sources say that Google has offered to buy Songza.
One source told the New York Post that Google is offering $15 million. Another source said the offer was higher and that multiple parties were interested in buying Songza.
Songza said they could not comment on the matter, and Google declined comment.
Nina Ulloa covers breaking news, tech, and more. Follow her on Twitter: @nine_u
Doesn’t Google already have several streaming services? (Youtube, All Access)
Combine YouTube Music + Songza curation and you have a killer.
I am not sure why they would want to buy Songza. There is nothing about the service that can’t be replicated. Unless they just want the brand and talent at the company.
It’s definitely not a technology buy.
I would assume they’re just buying the playlist archive & the curators in order to compete with Beats’ curation. They don’t have the industry connections to really do curation, so this would be the next best thing.
Songza is at a disadvantage because they don’t really have an proprietary technology. This might be the best offer they’re going to get unless they could somehow grow an enormous user base, which I don’t see happening. They’re great thinkers, though. And great curators.
“They don’t have the industry connections to really do curation”
Haha, you can that again…
Wait, um… who owns Songza at the moment?
Amazon, right?
I got the impression that Amazon bought Amie Street for the customer base. I didn’t think Songza was a part of the deal. They didn’t want the technology or the employees, I don’t know why they would want Songza. It didn’t fit into anything they were doing at the time. I’ve been under the impression that Songza is still owned by the guys who owned Amie St.
I would be willing to bet a lot of $$ that Amazon has a decent-sized stake.
Amie Street, Inc., still exists and Amazon remains an investor and board member of the company. Without its namesake site, Amie Street now focuses on Songza, a music-streaming service the company acquired in 2008.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/21/smallbusiness/amazon_acquisitions/index.htm
http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/14/songza-raises-3-8m-according-to-sec-filing-angellist-names-amazon-as-unconfirmed-investor/
“While Amazon has long been an “unconfirmed” investor listed on AngelList, it parlayed its investment in the earlier Aime St vehicle into Songza.”
Well, I sort of remembered Amazon buying AmieStreet, then the whole thing pivoting into Songza. I don’t remember Amazon dumping it or anything, I thought they still owned it.
I can check it out, just thought I’d throw it out there in case I was missing something obvious.
When I spoke to Songz’s founder Eric, he mentioned that Amazon had a stake in it, as does Atom Factory and a select few investors. If Google is interested, I’m guessing it’s to have their own Iovine-like exec in Troy Carter. I’m guessing for that price tag, Troy won’t be joining Google though.