Spotify has now conquered Europe, gaining millions of users along the way. So it’s now focusing its attentions firmly west, where the bright lights and big cities of the United States beckon. But will America fall for its charms in the same way Europe has? And is picking up more non-paying users a good result?

Spotify is a music streaming service that has the promise to eschew the need for iTunes and illegal file-sharing. It’s a music jukebox with most of your favorites available to play, and a host of new artists being added all the time. In effect, it’s every music lovers wet dream.

Spotify is available in its basic form completely for free, with adverts being played between every few songs in order for the company to pay its bills. Or there is the option to remove the ads and gain other benefits on top by paying a monthly fee and receiving the premium service.

Daniel Ek, the co-founder of Spotify, spoke in May of his hopes to launch in the U.S. and Forbes is now stating that launch is planned for later this year. A Spotify launch in America could also coincide with mobile versions of the service, with the Apple iPhone and Google Android smartphones being targeted.

There are, however, a couple of issues facing Spotify before any of this can happen. It is having to negotiate new deals with the four major record labels for streaming rights in the U.S., and although talks have taken place, nothing is yet confirmed.

Then there is the sheer size of the United States, which may mean Spotify has a problem getting word out on the street about the service seeing as it’s relying on word-of mouth advertising rather than expensive campaigns. Gaining a foothold in the U.S. can be a daunting prospect for any company, no matter how successful it has been in Europe.

But the biggest issue facing Spotify concerns getting too popular. Ek claims the premium service will break even by the end of this year, but most people opt for the free service, and that’s a long way from even covering its costs. If the music streaming service were to gain huge popularity in the States then Spotify could find itself losing money quicker than a fat man in a donut shop.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, July 18th, 2009 at 1:35 am under Internet, Music, Opinion, Technology.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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