 "PlayStation music to come via Spotify")
For almost five years now, Sony has maintained a presence in the developing world of streaming music, first under the unwieldy name Qriocity (pronounced "curiosity") and then as the more straightforward Music Unlimited.
Soon, Sony's music streaming endeavors will take on a much more familiar name: Spotify.
On Wednesday, the two companies had said this spring Spotify would effectively replace Music Unlimited as the music streaming outlet for Sony's PlayStation Network, the gaming, entertainment and media platform that is available through Sony devices. The deal covers 41 countries across North and South America, Asia and Europe. Its status in Japan - where Music Unlimited is one of the few global music streaming services available - "is not yet determined," according to the announcement.
Music Unlimited, which is available in 19 countries, will close on March 29, and its users will be offered trial access to Spotify's premium version, which normally costs $10 a month. PlayStation users will also be able to link their existing Spotify accounts.
The deal is a tacit acknowledgment both of Spotify's rapid growth - it has 60 million users around the world, 15 million with paid subscription plans - and of Sony's failure to develop a compelling streaming service. Sony has not given updated numbers for Music Unlimited since January 2012, when it said that the service had a million subscribers, but music executives say that its numbers have remained low.
The broader PlayStation network has 64 million active users, according to Sony, giving Spotify a broad new potential market as it competes with other players like Rdio, Google and Apple, which is expected to revamp the Beats Music streaming service later this year, after buying its parent company in 2014 for $3 billion.
Soon, Sony's music streaming endeavors will take on a much more familiar name: Spotify.
On Wednesday, the two companies had said this spring Spotify would effectively replace Music Unlimited as the music streaming outlet for Sony's PlayStation Network, the gaming, entertainment and media platform that is available through Sony devices. The deal covers 41 countries across North and South America, Asia and Europe. Its status in Japan - where Music Unlimited is one of the few global music streaming services available - "is not yet determined," according to the announcement.
Music Unlimited, which is available in 19 countries, will close on March 29, and its users will be offered trial access to Spotify's premium version, which normally costs $10 a month. PlayStation users will also be able to link their existing Spotify accounts.
The deal is a tacit acknowledgment both of Spotify's rapid growth - it has 60 million users around the world, 15 million with paid subscription plans - and of Sony's failure to develop a compelling streaming service. Sony has not given updated numbers for Music Unlimited since January 2012, when it said that the service had a million subscribers, but music executives say that its numbers have remained low.
The broader PlayStation network has 64 million active users, according to Sony, giving Spotify a broad new potential market as it competes with other players like Rdio, Google and Apple, which is expected to revamp the Beats Music streaming service later this year, after buying its parent company in 2014 for $3 billion.
©2015 The New York Times News Service