It's easy to write Rhapsody off as a hopeless niche play. In fact, that's exactly what JV partners RealNetworks and MTV Networks did one year ago. Yet oddly enough, that's just about when things started to grow! Today, Rhapsody celebrates its first year of independence (no, this isn't a formerlycolonized island nation), and its newfound freedom has powered a 15 percent gain in subscribers.
The numbers? As of today, subscribers stand at 750,000, a beef-up of 100,000 over twelve months. But does this signal serious growth ahead, and the arrival of serious cloud-based access in the US?
The question is worth asking, especially with Spotify clamoring for entrance into the US. According to our sources, part of the lukewarm reception for Spotify in the US comes from a 'been there, done that' sort of resignation. After all, music subscription has already been tried in America, with extremely lackluster results. Americans may have already chewed this piece of cud.
But that was before smartphones seriously took the stage, before homes became serious hotspots, before cars started seriously entering the discussion, and before Spotify hit one million paying subscribers. Jon Irwin, the incoming CEO of Rhapsody, is predictably optimistic about it all but also credits mobile for most of the gains. “Mobile has been the most significant contributor to the growth of subscription music usage," he relayed. But will that be enough to bring subscriptions into the big leagues, and more importantly, make meaningful returns for artists and labels?
The numbers? As of today, subscribers stand at 750,000, a beef-up of 100,000 over twelve months. But does this signal serious growth ahead, and the arrival of serious cloud-based access in the US?
The question is worth asking, especially with Spotify clamoring for entrance into the US. According to our sources, part of the lukewarm reception for Spotify in the US comes from a 'been there, done that' sort of resignation. After all, music subscription has already been tried in America, with extremely lackluster results. Americans may have already chewed this piece of cud.
But that was before smartphones seriously took the stage, before homes became serious hotspots, before cars started seriously entering the discussion, and before Spotify hit one million paying subscribers. Jon Irwin, the incoming CEO of Rhapsody, is predictably optimistic about it all but also credits mobile for most of the gains. “Mobile has been the most significant contributor to the growth of subscription music usage," he relayed. But will that be enough to bring subscriptions into the big leagues, and more importantly, make meaningful returns for artists and labels?
