Apple reportedly tried to keep Spotify out of U.S.
Spotify Director and former Facebook president Sean Parker said there was "some indication" of Apple attempting to block the music streaming service out of the U.S. fearing competition for iTunes.
Speaking at the D10 conference on Wednesday, Parker claims that there was a sense that Apple felt threatened by Spotify and may have taken steps to stop its launch in the U.S. where iTunes is the dominating music distribution entity.
?There was some indication that that might have been happening,? Parker said. ?You hear things, people send you emails.?
Although onstage at the time, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek didn't comment on why it took the service two and a half years after it launched in Europe to reach America. The app-based music streamer, created in 2006 in Sweden, was already gaining critical acclaim in a number of countries by 2010, but only hit U.S. shores in July 2011.
Parker admits that the music industry is not an overly important sector for Apple and it is unlikely that the company is too concerned with rivals like Spotify, saying "?[Music] is still such a small part of their overall business, it wouldn?t be hugely significant to their bottom line.?
Spotify Director Sean Parker at D10. | Source: All Things D
Before Parker's comments, Ek said that there are about 10 million Spotify users in the U.S., 3 million of which are paying customers. The service's catalog now boasts 18 million songs and the list is growing by 10,000 or 20,000 tracks per day.
Speaking at the D10 conference on Wednesday, Parker claims that there was a sense that Apple felt threatened by Spotify and may have taken steps to stop its launch in the U.S. where iTunes is the dominating music distribution entity.
?There was some indication that that might have been happening,? Parker said. ?You hear things, people send you emails.?
Although onstage at the time, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek didn't comment on why it took the service two and a half years after it launched in Europe to reach America. The app-based music streamer, created in 2006 in Sweden, was already gaining critical acclaim in a number of countries by 2010, but only hit U.S. shores in July 2011.
Parker admits that the music industry is not an overly important sector for Apple and it is unlikely that the company is too concerned with rivals like Spotify, saying "?[Music] is still such a small part of their overall business, it wouldn?t be hugely significant to their bottom line.?
Spotify Director Sean Parker at D10. | Source: All Things D
Before Parker's comments, Ek said that there are about 10 million Spotify users in the U.S., 3 million of which are paying customers. The service's catalog now boasts 18 million songs and the list is growing by 10,000 or 20,000 tracks per day.
Comments
If this is true it is quite sad...
Healthy competition's is always a good thing, and when companies go out of their way to thwart it that the entire industry becomes stifiled and far less innovative than it ever should be.
Spotify is going to fail. Label after label are pulling their music from the service.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fredaroony
If this is true it is quite sad...
No proof, no evidence, just suspicions and rumors. No need to be sad unless, of course, you are predisposed to think the worst of Apple. Are you?
Great way to drum up some last minute publicity for your "iTunes-killer" (take a number, Lol) music service, Sean.
Go to D10, and since you've got nothing else going for your service that never really took off in the way you dreamed, make up some stuff about "big bad Apple", and then dodge any requests for proof by alluding to your own "insider" knowledge: "You hear things, people send you emails."
And *then*, backpedal just enough, and then make just enough conciliatory remarks that you *might* come off as "balanced":
"Parker admits that the music industry is not an overly important sector for Apple and it is unlikely that the company is too concerned with rivals like Spotify, saying "?[Music] is still such a small part of their overall business, it wouldn?t be hugely significant to their bottom line."
So Apple went out of their way to block a service that would have competed against Apple in a segment Apple no longer really cared about.
Uh-huh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaHarder
Given the strength of Apple's presence in so many areas of modern technology, their constant/relentless attempts to block the efforts of anything that even appears to be competition does little more than indicate that they're not quite as confident in their wares as some might believe.
Healthy competition's is always a good thing, and when companies go out of their way to thwart it that the entire industry becomes stifiled and far less innovative than it ever should be.
If you're talking about them protecting their IP in that first post, you need to step your game up.
This case is different from all that - if true it would be concerning. Apple doesn't even provide a competing subscription service!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkrupp
No proof, no evidence, just suspicions and rumors. No need to be sad unless, of course, you are predisposed to think the worst of Apple. Are you?
What part of "If this is true" did you not understand?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaHarder
Given the strength of Apple's presence in so many areas of modern technology, their constant/relentless attempts to block the efforts of anything that even appears to be competition does little more than indicate that they're not quite as confident in their wares as some might believe.
Healthy competition's is always a good thing, and when companies go out of their way to thwart it that the entire industry becomes stifiled and far less innovative than it ever should be.
Constant relentless attempts?
This is merely a feeling they had... And of course they would, Apple is the elephant in the room, the 800 pound gorilla look down over your shoulder.
It's been over 10 years and no one has come close. Spotify is NOT going to hurt Apple and they know that. Spotify is just another attempt at renting music. It will eventually fail.
It's people like you that make Fox News so dangerous... You just blindly listen to what someone says and take it as fact even when there is nothing that says it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Fix
Spotify is going to fail. Label after label are pulling their music from the service.
Really? I'm able to get just about anything I want on it. Screw the record labels. If they kill stuff like Spotify they really are idiots.
I wish Apple had succeeded. Spotify is bad for consumers, bad for musicians, bad for experiencing hi-fidelity music. Mastered for iTunes is the best way to experience digital music.
Sean Parker is a media whore. I wouldn't believe anything he says, he'll do anything to increase awareness of his companies. And nothing's going to get his name and Spotify in the media quicker than bringing up a "feeling" he had about Apple wanting to crush his awesome company.
Oh please.
And for people to think Apple is afraid of competition, is just asinine... They've been competing with the mother of all competition, Microsoft, for over twenty years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fredaroony
What part of "If this is true" did you not understand?
Probably the part where you think leading questions are part of honest conversation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadra 610
Probably the part where you think leading questions are part of honest conversation.
lol ok. There is not more to say other than that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eksodos
I wish Apple had succeeded. Spotify is bad for consumers, bad for musicians, bad for experiencing hi-fidelity music. Mastered for iTunes is the best way to experience digital music.
That's one way of looking at things. Another way is that Spotify is actually great of consumers and musicians. How? Many consumers want to discover new music. Many musicians want their music discovered. Spotify offers an easy way of doing this without having to necessarily buy every song. It's wonderful of discovery, and guess what? It's legal.
Why is that some on here simply cannot accept that many love Spotify (and similar) services. These same folks have been talking about the "death of subscription music" for a long time. Guess what? They're still around. Some like Spotify, Rdio and others are doing quite well. They aren't going away anytime soon.
As for audio fidelity? I don't have a high end system. I wouldn't be able to hear the difference. I'm not an audiophile - nothing wrong in being one - that's just not my priority in life.
w00master
Quote:
Originally Posted by fredaroony
What part of "If this is true" did you not understand?
I heard you beat your dog. Nothing definite, you hear things, people send you emails...If this is true, quite sad.
It is more likely that Apple, being unable to obtain streaming deals from the music industry was seeking some fairness, not having to compete with one hand tied behind their back.
No doubt Apple would like to offer a subscription service to their substantial iTunes library, licensing restrictions are what prevents it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaHarder
Given the strength of Apple's presence in so many areas of modern technology, their constant/relentless attempts to block the efforts of anything that even appears to be competition does little more than indicate that they're not quite as confident in their wares as some might believe.
Healthy competition's is always a good thing, and when companies go out of their way to thwart it that the entire industry becomes stifiled and far less innovative than it ever should be.
Obviously you are referring to the abuse of F/RAND based patents deemed essential for standards, such as those being used by Samsung and Motorola Mobility against Apple and Microsoft.
You'd think now that Motorola Mobility is owned by Google, that the FRAND based suits would have been dropped as a matter of principle, Google being renowned chest beaters over issues involving patents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galley
They supposedly tried to block Spotify, yet offer apps for competing services like Rhapsody, Rdio, MOG and Sony Music Unlimited?
..and spotify.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eksodos
I wish Apple had succeeded. Spotify is bad for consumers, bad for musicians, bad for experiencing hi-fidelity music. Mastered for iTunes is the best way to experience digital music.
Mastered for iTunes? Pardon, are you really comparing the quality of iTunes to that of a CD, or SACD?
Parker heard a thing from a guy at that place that one time.
And then he got EMAIL.
From .....a Nigerian PRINCE!