It is believed that Spotify has raised $100 million from investors, according to media reports.
Taking part in the funding were: DST, Kleiner Perkins and Accel, according to a report from Mashable.
There were also reports that the latest valuation of the music subscription service came in at $1 billion, according to reports from All Things D and TechZone360.
All Things D is predicting that Spotify will be launched in the United States during the summer.
“Its efforts to get into the U.S. have been stymied for two years, and recently Spotify has had to scale back what it offers for free to European users — either to appease the music labels, or to save money, depending on which version of the story you believe.” All Things D adds. “And again, it’s important to remember that while Spotify is a buzzy hit in Europe, with a million paid subscribers and at least another 6 million who sample it for free, it’s going to find a much different marketplace when it lands here.”
Spotify may have signed deals with UMG, EMI and Sony, and was reportedly in discussions with Warner Music Group, Mashable said.
“We’re signing the remaining deals as I speak,” Jonathan Forster, general manager of Europe and global vice president of ad sales at Spotify, said at a recent conference in London, according to Mashable.
Mashable adds that U.S. record companies are “not overly enthusiastic about Spotify’s ‘freemium’ business model,” however – “where the company gives away ad-supported music in hopes of signing paying subscribers to its ad-free version.”
Spotify provides instant access to music. It gives users access to millions of songs via a computer, mobile device or other devices. It also lets users play and share music legally, according to a company statement.
Ed Silverstein is a TechZone360 contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
