Spotify Competitor Deezer Aiming for U.S. Challenge

Deezer, a Spotify competitor operating internationally, has set its sights on the U.S. Deezer CEO Axel Dauchez tells the Wall Street Journal that his company is "looking for a partner in the U.S." that would allow it to gain access to a "significant volume of subscribers." CNet reports that Deezer's service is available in 160 countries, offering two free hours of ad-supported music streaming. Deezer also has monthly plans ranging in price from $9 to $12 a month for those who want to stream music to their mobile devices. "Deezer ostensibly believes that it can succeed where Spotify has faced significant trouble," writes Don Reisinger for CNet. "Although Spotify came to the U.S. as a paid service for users who wanted tracks on different devices, it has quickly changed its tune and is becoming more Pandora-like by delivering a free mobile radio service. Spotify, however, still relies mainly on monthly payment plans to monetize its operation." Spotify, which has yet to earn a profit in the U.S, reported over $244 million in revenue in 2011, but lost $59 million. "PrivCo, a company that sells data on non-publicly traded data, said that based on the company's financials, its business model is 'unsustainable'," notes Reisinger, who writes that it is not known how Deezer, which is slightly smaller than Spotify, is faring.