Digital music streaming

In our last Week in Review, we took a look into our crystal ball to see what new ventures may be coming out of the woodwork this year – including the futuristic concept of smart glasses.

This week, however, we turn our attention back to something that is already a big, popular, and sought-after phenomena – music streaming services. With Tesco last week announcing its sale of Blinkbox, the streaming services scene is about to become even more competitive as two new rivals are set to emerge this year:  

Tesco close to selling Blinkbox Music

Last week, one of Britain’s largest retailers sold their video streaming service, Blinkbox Movies, to telecoms business TalkTalk in a bid to reel in cash spend – and profit loss. This week they are set to sell Blinkbox Music, their music streaming service, to Australian company Guvera, who are already big in Asia and partnered with Lenovo. Guvera will use this acquisition as a means to get their foot into the UK and European market. Under their management, Blinkbox Music will undergo a face transplant in the form of new branding.

Deezer acquires Muve Music

We bring our attention back to European players – more specifically, to French music streaming service Deezer. They already launched in the US in September 2014 following a partnership with Sonos, but now, with the acquisition of Muve Music, they are set to expand their presence in the US – which is also home to perhaps their biggest rival, Pandora. What will make Deezer different? Access to an impressive 35 million tracks, and a tantalising price of $6 per month, compared to the $10 that most other services charge. Will this launch them into a big player on the scale of Pandora? Watch this space…

Why mobile is key to Spotify’s future growth

Swedish music streaming behemoth Spotify is this week celebrating 15m paid subscribers and 60m active users; and more than half of these users are streaming via their mobile devices. Statistics show that 42% stream on smartphones, and 10% on tablets. Their free streaming on mobile through their shuffle feature increased their amount of mobile listeners dramatically; but now their goal is to transfer these listeners into paid subscribers. But with Apple to automatically install Beats Music on their iPhones, it will be interesting to monitor how this will affect Spotify’s iOS users.

Radio still beats digital for music discovery

Despite the influx of music streaming services vying for your attention, ears, and wallets, the days of the radio are still going strong. The latest statistics from Nielsen have shown that 51% of music consumers in the US find new songs through the radio – that’s an impressive 243 million. The figures include all platforms of radio; car radios, AM/FM sets, and online radio. They also show that listening in the car is the most common way of enjoying music; and that Disney’s Frozen soundtrack is the number one listened to. It looks like there’s no letting go of it…..see what we did there?

If you are interested in becoming a broadcasting partner, or would like to know what our integrating technology can do for you, contact our Partnership Account Manager Matthew Layton – matthew.layton@exaget.com or +447533517396

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