In response to the announcement of Google’s music streaming service, Oleg Fomenko, Co-founder and CEO of Bloom.fm, argues that pricing will be key if the service is to success against competition.
The majority of music consumed in the UK isn’t being paid for because the existing prices are prohibitively high for the mass market. There is nothing new here for music fans to get excited about, just another clone service with a one-size fits all price.
£120 a year is much more than the average music fan is able or prepared to spend. We think you should have the option to pay for what you need. So Bloom.fm has a choice of access levels; free, £1, £5 and £10 a month.
There are two things that matter most – a beautiful and easy to use product that people want to use again and again and an affordable entry-level price. This is why we launched the world’s first £1 per month subscription.
It’s vital that we offer music fans fair prices if we are going to compete with all the free sources of music that are on offer. We’ve proven that people will pay for music if the service is fun, easy to use and adds to their enjoyment of their favourite songs, but it’s just unrealistic to ask everyone for £120 a year.
By Oleg Fomenko
Co-founder and CEO
Bloom.fm
http://www.bloom.fm/