Spotify Inches Closer to US Deal

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The music streaming service Spotify is apparently getting closer to finally expanding from Europe into the United States. Unnamed sources claim the company has already landed at least one deal with a music label and is nearly finished wrapping up a deal with a Sony Music, according to the New York Post.

The company has been hampered in the U.S. by the record labels and keeps pushing back its projected launch window, originally slated for some time in 2009. Apparently labels are now asking the company to front some US$100 million in royalty pre-payments, and they want Spotify to push its subscription-based models in the country instead of its free services.

Despite the delays and high demands from the labels, it looks like Spotify may finally be getting close to a U.S. launch. If so, the service could be seen as a potential competitor to Apple’s purchase-based music distribution model at the iTunes Store.

“Spotify is launching in the U.S., for sure,” commented an unnamed music executive. “They’ve got deals now.”

Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet

Jeff is the Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X" from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also co-hosts the We Have Communicators podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other podcasts, too. Jeff dreams in HD.

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