Spotify has launched in the US, marking the online music streaming service its first expansion outside of Europe.
The US version will be an invite-only free ad-supported service, alongside a premium option charged at $4.99 (£3.09) per month edition which is free of ads.
US consumers will also be able to subscribe to a premium account, which includes full access on mobiles and exclusive access to some new albums for $9.99 (£6.20) a month.
Spotify has harboured ambitions to expand stateside since its launch two years ago, but has previously been hindered by copyright issues.
The firm was launched in Sweden in 2008 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, out of a desire to develop a better, more convenient and legal alternative to music piracy.
Spotify is now the second single largest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe (IFPI, April 2011), making sure that artists get a fair deal.
Spotify has more than 10 million registered users and more than 1.6 million paying subscribers across 7 countries in Europe; the US marks the 8th territory.
With a ratio of well over 15% paying subscribers to active free users, Spotify is the largest and fastest growing service of its kind.
Users can also discover the most popular playlists on sites like www.sharemyplaylists.com and www.bbcify.com, or use sites like www.spotiseek.com to create playlists of new music based on their favorite artists.
Daniel Ek, Founder and CEO of Spotify, said: “We believe that music is the most social thing there is and that’s why we’ve built the best social features into Spotify for easy sharing and the ultimate in music discovery. Even if you aren’t a total music freak, chances are you have a friend who is and whose taste you admire. I’m looking forward to connecting with some of you in Spotify and discovering some cool new tracks.”
Spotify’s exclusive launch partners are Coca-Cola and Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok, Sonos and The Daily.
These brands will all be launching innovative campaigns in partnership with Spotify in the coming weeks and months.
Ken Parks, Chief Content Officer and Managing Director of Spotify North America, said: “Spotify was founded as a better, simpler alternative to piracy. So making sure that the people who create the music prosper is hugely important to us. We have full catalogues from all the major labels and a raft of independent labels including those represented by Merlin, which means all of their artists are being fairly compensated for their creativity every time people enjoy music through Spotify.”
Spotify and Virgin Media have recently teamed up in the UK to offer Virgin broadband customers access to the music streaming service on a range of devices, including TV and computers.
www.spotify.com
