Spotify expands in the Japanese market

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Spotify, the top music streaming service, today launched in Japan, the world’s third-largest economy by nominal GDP and home to population of 127 million people. The company announced at a press event in Tokyo that the service is currently available to music lovers in Japan on an invite-only basis before opening to all users. The service launched on mobile, tablet, desktop and PlayStation consoles.

It marks the first freemium music service to give Japanese music lovers access to music from their favorite domestic and international artists, said the Swedish startup.

Both Spotify’s ad-supproted free tier and a fully featured ad-free subscription service are available to consumers in Japan. The Japanese price for Spotify Premium subscriptions is 980 yen per month, which works out to about $9.99 per month.

Customers in Japan get to enjoy many hallmark Spotify features, including:

  • Comprehensive catalog of Japanese and international artists
  • Unique discovery and personalization features including Discover Weekly (a playlist based on your listening habits, updated every Monday) and Release Radar (a playlist of new music based on the artists you follow and listen to the most, updated every Friday)
  • Music curated to fit your every taste and mood. Alongside Spotify’s international playlists, Japanese users can enjoy a range of playlists expertly curated by our Tokyo-based team of music experts, including Tokyo Super Hits and Best of J-Rock!
  • Use mobile, laptop, tablet or PlayStation Music for PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 to control and listen across free and subscription services
  • Listen everywhere: Wi-Fi speakers, TV, PlayStation and more, using the Spotify app as a remote
    Gaming and Running modes alongside Japanese and global streaming charts
  • Song lyrics support on mobile – making its global Spotify debut in Japan – alongside desktop lyric support

Following the Japan launch, Spotify will be available in 60 markets worldwide with over 100 million users worldwide.

The Financial Times reported yesterday that Spotify is in “advanced talks” to take over Soundcloud, a global online audio distribution platform based in Berlin, Germany.

The marriage between Spotify and Soundcloud makes sense.

Spotify has the brand power and deals with major record labels, but lacks music from independent labels and artists which is commonly found on Soundcloud.

Source: Spotify