Spotify has just launched its Music streaming service in Japan, joining the party already swarming with competitors Apple Music and Line Music.
Spotify, which says it has over 100 million active users worldwide, will be competing with Apple Music and Line Music. The latter comes from the same company behind Japan's most popular messaging app, Line Messenger. Both Apple Music and Line Music launched in Japan last year, though they're both subscription only. Spotify is free with ads but also has a paid, ad-free option.
Japan is a big market, at last count worth over $2.6 billion, but it's estimated that 80 percent of music there is still bought on CD, not streamed. By contrast, streaming overtook CD sales last year in the US.
The country's music business is worth over $2.5 billion, but it may be tough for Spotify to get a big piece of that pie.The company set up a Tokyo office last year and has made deals with record labels to get Japanese music on its service. Playlists have been set up specifically for Japanese streamers.
Spotify, which says it has over 100 million active users worldwide, will be competing with Apple Music and Line Music. The latter comes from the same company behind Japan's most popular messaging app, Line Messenger. Both Apple Music and Line Music launched in Japan last year, though they're both subscription only. Spotify is free with ads but also has a paid, ad-free option.
Japan is a big market, at last count worth over $2.6 billion, but it's estimated that 80 percent of music there is still bought on CD, not streamed. By contrast, streaming overtook CD sales last year in the US.
