So here’s the deal with big time music blogger Bob Lefsetz: unless you’re in the market for somebody explaining the significance of Jackson Browne’s “The Late Show” he is useless when it comes to writing about pop music. Also, all his taste is in his mouth. AND when it comes to writing about the biz he is not to be trusted on the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger. BUT there are few writers smarter on the business of mass media.
So I read with interests his thoughts on Spotify, a music streaming company out of the UK with the four majors signed up, and the ability to run on your Ipod with their premium service. By which I mean IT IS MOBILE.
You can also buy songs directly from Spotify if you want to own em forever.
How popular is this concept? 700,000 people signed up for it before it started up.
And now look at this from their Q and A:
What happens if I stop my premium subscription?
If you end your premium subscription you will no longer be able to access Spotify on the Mobile. However, the playlists you created will be accessible in Spotify on your computer.
So how are the record companies gonna make money on this? My bet is the same way Apple hooked ya. Once you need it they up their prices but even that doesn’t seem quite enough.
Lefsetz compared it to the mess the majors made out of Napster which is leading to their demise -if the majors stand in the way of streaming they are gonna be fucked.
I dunno but rather Spotify than Lala because once you can get streaming music on your Ipods the MP3 is going the way on CDs and vinyl…