Monday, March 31, 2014

Report: Spotify Has Target On Its Back

Google’s YouTube is prepping a Spotify-style subscription music service this summer as part of a redesign of the popular online video hub, sources told The NY Post.

After several delays, YouTube is poised to launch the service through its Music Pass app for Android mobile devices, according to sources.

The subscription service would be Google’s second grab at the all-you-can-eat music market. Google Play, its two-year-old online entertainment store, already offers an All Access offering that competes with Spotify, Pandora and other streaming services.

YouTube’s Music Pass will likely charge $10 a month for a commercial-free option — on par with Spotify’s paid service — and $5 a month for an ad-supported version, one source said.

Considering YouTube’s huge user base — more than 1 billion unique visitors a month — Spotify has reason to be nervous.

But Google isn’t the only one ramping up the competition with Spotify.

Apple is said to be in talks with record labels over launching a streaming subscription offering under its iTunes brand.

Amazon is also reportedly in talks with music labels about a streaming service for its Prime subscribers.

Spotify is also fighting off land grabs from Jimmy Iovine’s Beats Music, which has spent millions on advertising and has signed up 28,000 new users in its first free month, according to Bloomberg News.

Anthony Bay, the CEO of Rdio, which has an alliance with Cumulus stations to help boost its subscription music service, told The Post: “It’s very early days for music streaming. There are over 1 billion mobile users and 30 million music subscribers in the world.”

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