Last week, we reported that after two years of failed negotiations between record labels and the European music subscription service, Spotify was finally on track to make its’ U.S. debut. This came after news broke that Spotify was able to make a deal with Sony Music, building rumors that deals with other labels were also close to happening. Well, it appears that the later might not be the case at all.
DigitalMusicNews.com is reporting that despite securing a deal with Sony Music, a majority of the record labels are still less than enthused to sign a deal with Spotify. The music subscription service’s free “all-you-can-eat” account (which allows users to access unlimited music for free in exchange for advertisement space) remains the key issue at hand. Many label execs reportedly feel that a deal such as that “devalues” the music/their product, and that the turnover of users who switch to the $10 account (which still gives unlimited music but with no advertisements) will still remain low.
So what does this mean for Spotify and future American users? To simply put it:
1. The deal with Sony Music is progress, but hardly the huge stepping stone we originally thought it to be for Spotify.
2. American music fans will have to wait longer to finally use it.
We’ll keep you updated when more is revealed.
