Not very far into the first month of the year and the goings-on of one particular service segment in the music industry are continuing into this first quarter from the tail the end of last year. The “volley” of positive or negative business changes that various popular music streaming services have juggled among themselves is raging on like a dynamic, unencumbered ecosystem full of predators, prey, and territory up for grabs.
Spotify seemed to break the ice and get people to really buzz when it came to streaming services making big moves, after it finally launched in the U.S. in the summer of 2011. Last year in April, France-based Deezer expanded out of Europe as well but took to Canada and the lands down under of Australia and New Zealand, rather than the states. Now, in 2013, Rhapsody makes three expansions in a row. The U.S. company announced a plan to add 16 new European countries to its roster of nations with access to its services. According to Gigaom.com, the shift is due sometime between April and June for the second quarter of the year. Additionally, a fourth move, not yet in place but allegedly on the way, is the expansion of Rdio and Spotify to Japan.
Rather than following the lead of its corporate colleagues, for the part of business that involved absorbing others for its own benefits, Rhapsody seemed to instead set a trend with its assimilation of the European sector of Napster (which was only about one year ago), and this served mostly as a move for completion after the corresponding U.S. Napster purchase. Then last week, hearing news of Dr. Dre’s company, Beats, working on its own streaming service named Daisy and subsequently recruiting Ian Rogers, CEO of (publicly young company) TopSpin Media, to spearhead the project, after a fairly recent acquisition of MOG…all of this would be enough to make even the most up-to-date news reader lose track of things. Thinking of the music streaming landscape as a world map with multiple armies trying to divide and conquer, much like the long and strategic world domination game of “Risk,” does not sound like too much of a stretch, given the many shifts of powerful groups and individuals presently at hand.
Since specific details on Rhapsody’s expansion plans are not being doled out right now and Daisy is still under development, for the average consumer, sitting back and letting the dust settle among the players might be a good course of action for the time being. What used to be exclusive and advantageous to one company over another does not sound like a situation long to remain. Each of these companies is out for the head spot and once geographical lines are gone, everyone –executive and patron alike– will have the chance to see the map at large and see each business for what they want to uniquely provide to their customers within their service alone, not just for where in the world they can or cannot register.
Here’s a breakdown of where the music streaming players stand on the “World Map:”
Rhapsody (founded 2001):
U.S.A., Germany, U.K. +16 other EU nations, TBA
MOG (founded 2005):
Acquired by Beats but originally USA, Australia
Spotify (founded 2006):
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium (Dutch), Belgium (French), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (French), Switzerland (German), USA, United Kingdom, TBA Japan(?)
Beats by Dre “Daisy” (founded 2006):
TBA but likely at least USA and Australia at start because of MOG acquisition(?)
Deezer (founded 2007):
Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Austria Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Bhutan, Botswana, Belarus, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Switzerland, The Ivory Coast, Cook Islands Chile, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Cyprus (country). Czech Republic, Germany, Liechtenstein, Djibouti, Denmark, Greenland, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Western Sahara, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Aland Islands, Finland, Fiji Micronesia (country), Andorra, Saint Barthelemy, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Monaco, Saint Martin (French Antilles), Martinique, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Reunion, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte, Gabon, United Kingdom, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Jersey, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, British Virgin Islands, Georgia (country), Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Croatia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland (country), Iceland, Italy, San Marino, Holy See (Vatican City),Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, Grenada (country), Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros (country), Kazakhstan, Laos, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxemburg (country), Latvia, Libya, Moldova, Montenegro, Madagascar, Marshall Islands (country), Macedonia (country), Mali, Mongolia, Malta, Mauritius (country), the Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Aruba, the Netherlands, Suriname, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, Niue, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Palau, Paraguay, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, São Tomé and Príncipe, El Salvador, Swaziland, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tokelau, East Timor, Turkmenistan, Tonga, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Rdio (founded 2010):
USA, U.K., Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, TBA Japan(?)
It is interesting that although Deezer is one of the newest services on the scene, it has the most territory covered. Furthermore, Deezer is also stepping ahead via unique features, with announcement of their plans for music festival wristbands that will use Radio Frequency Identification Technology to make recommendations about live shows based on what performances a person attends.
Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1
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