SpotifyAccording to Reuters, Spotify have been reported to be only “a few weeks away” from closing a deal with Universal Music Group – the world’s largest music company. Once complete, the deal will allow the service to launch in the US, even though they haven’t gotten the big 4 music companies on their side yet. As of now, Warner Music is still out of the equation and Spotify might launch without them but a last minute deal isn’t out of the question. Spotify has been around for quite some time now in Europe and has been looking to bring its services across the Atlantic Ocean to our shores, but problems in securing the rights for music have been the major cause of delay. Google’s upcoming music service also faced the same troubles, but since it will be launching with the Motorola Xoom (which is released tomorrow), it means that they’ve probably gotten the licensing issues solved. Music companies have been reluctant to deal with Spotify mostly because of their premium model – users can use the service for free or pay to upgrade to their premium service. When music companies already have their music on paid services such as iTunes and Rhapsody, a service that gives consumers access to free music could possibly cannibalize sales. Although Spotify has been a hit in Europe, they’ll need to assure the music companies here that they can repeat the same success in the American market. What do you think of Spotify, will you be switching over to it from your current music service when it launches?

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