It’s been more than two years since Spotify axed the invite process and went live for all in the UK. Meanwhile the US has waited patiently for its chance to enjoy “any track, any time, anywhere”. As compelling as it sounds, Spotify is not the only streaming game in town. Grooveshark and Pandora have filled the music streaming void during the wait and today’s announcement may have fallen on deaf ears. Did Spotify miss the streaming boat and take too long to launch in the US?
Before we can jump the gun and call Spotify’s US launch a success or failure let’s paint the picture of the music streaming market. By the end of 2011 there will be roughly 5.9 million subscribers to paid music services who access content from a mobile phone. Roughly 33 percent, or 1.94 million will reside in the United States. By 2016 that number is expected to skyrocket to 161 million users, more than 28 million from the US. Clearly, the market for paid streaming music services is going to explode.
Spotify’s competition in the US consists of Pandora and Grooveshark. For a desktop user, Grooveshark is the clear threat. In the mobile space Spotify must battle Pandora. In both markets, Spotify has the upper hand not only in content and functionality, but in terms of availability and polish. While Pandora offers apps for both Android and iOS, creating radio stations and discovering new music loses its novelty over time.
Sometimes you just want to hear a certain song. Grooveshark addresses this issue by offering a massive library of music and the ability to turn that music into playlists. Unfortunately the official app was pulled from the Android Market and has never made it to the Apple App Store.
Although Spotify might not win over the Grooveshark desktop/laptop audience. The growth in paid streaming music services over the next five years will be found in mobile. Offering both Android and iOS apps with the ability to listen to exactly the song you want, when you want it, will be more than enough to give Spotify the edge it needs to succeed.
Yes, promise of any track, any time, anywhere is a compelling sales pitch, especially when you consider the price. With the choice of a free account or premium and unlimited accounts starting at $4.99, requesting an invite for Spotify is most definitely worth the wait. In the short term, the move to offer Spotify in the US might not carry the praise seen in Europe, but over time Spotify is poised to dominate. If you haven’t signed up yet, I highly recommend requesting an invite or taking a premium or unlimited account for a spin for instant access.
