With its Napster acquisition this calendar week , Rhapsody , the august U.S.-only digital euphony subscription serving , is in conflict mode as rivalSpotifyattempts to bear its strong impulse in Europe to America .
The deal between Rhapsody and Best Buy was an all - Malcolm stock deal . A Rhapsody spokeswoman say the company is n’t reveal the note value of the minority interest it gave up to Best Buy in substitution for Napster .
Rhapsody , in its various incarnation , has been supply subscription - based digital music well out for about a decennium . That business has been overshadowed in the U.S. by the a la bill of fare buying of individual songs and total album , primarily from the iTunes Store .
However , the subscription model may be gathering momentum , helped by its success in other medium , like the subscription - based cyclosis of TV shows and movies popularized by Netflix .
According to a late Forrester Research study , adult net user in the U.S. spend an norm of $ 81 per month on media intersection , and the fashion they pay for that content is undergo a “ fundamental transformation , ” pen Forrester analyst James McQuivey .
“ To boom , media intersection strategist must lurch to a manikin in which paid content is more virtual than forcible — and more rented than owned , ” McQuivey wrote in the report card titled “ hoi polloi Pay For Content ; They Just Do n’t Own It ” print in March .
In a distinctive month , 18 percent of U.S. adult Internet exploiter buy physical compact disc , and 13 percent leverage strain and albums online , while 2 percent ante up to sign to streaming music service like Rhapsody , according to the Forrester written report .
Music subscription service got a hump up after Apple set out get these supplier offer their services via software from the App Store , said Gartner ’s McGuire .
These software program and other improvements have made Rhapsody and service like it more convenient and bare for people to use , he said .
A clear sign that consumer are sensory to subscription - found music cyclosis services is the quick welcome they have given to Spotify since its launching in the U.S. in July of this class .
Spotify has also gotten a big endorsement from Facebook , which featured the fellowship prominently at its late F8 developer conference as an lesson of the plastered practical software integration possible through the up-to-the-minute upgrade to the Facebook platform .
The Rhapsody app program for Facebook now offers alike integration to Spotify ’s . However , Spotify is a more compelling product for advertisers because of its turgid user base , enounce Altimeter Group analyst Rebecca Lieb .
“ Spotify has 10 million world members , and part of their bargain with Facebook is , if not compelling , then strongly driving those users to portion out on Facebook ’s platform , ” she say via e - mail . “ Even with the Napster acquisition , Rhapsody ca n’t approach those numbers . ”
Thus , there is n’t a major brand marketer out there not birth discussions with Spotify , because advertisers go where the stretch is , which is on Facebook , and that is creating intense , unprecedented challenger for other cloud music players , Lieb bestow .
Rhapsody is sticking to its scheme of offering only paid subscription selection , as fight back to Spotify , which has a canonical detached tier in addition to its fee - based alternatives .
For now , Rhapsody is focusing on the Napster transition . It expect to have all Napster reader transmigrate to the Rhapsody system by the ending of November , the spokeswoman pronounce . Napster customers will get equivalent time value for MP3 credits they hold .
