Spotify has announced today that they have reached their first major milestone, one million paying customers.
Says the streaming music company:
It seems like only yesterday we were hatching ideas for a new music service in a tiny office-cum-apartment with a broken coffee machine, and the party we threw having reached one million users almost two years ago today was one to remember.
So it’s with a sense of real pride and excitement that we can announce a new milestone today, having welcomed our millionth paying subscriber to the service. It’s a testament to our fantastic users who continue to support us and spread the Spotify word, either by telling friends or sharing some of the 200 million playlists that you’ve put together so far.
From everyone at Spotify, we’d like to give you all massive thanks. We’ll continue to focus on providing you with the best music service possible, and look forward to adding even more cool new features over the coming months. What’s really exciting is that this is only the beginning.
Overall, the company has 7 million active users and over 10 million registered users.
Spotify is aiming for a U.S. launch soon, and has reportedly signed deals with EMI and Sony Music. The service is allegedly close to signing a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, the largest label in the world.
Result for: Group
Yesterday we reported that Amazon was preparing to purchase an investment stake in daily deal giant LivingSocial, following Google’s $5.3 billion bid for market leader Groupon.
Today, Amazon has announced an investment of $175 million in the site, a deal that will put the two companies in a “deep operating partnership.”
LivingSocial will use the massive cash infusion to expand to more countries.
The site is currently available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Australia. For those nations, the deals are available in 120 different cities.
LivingSocial says it is expanding at a rate of just under one new city per day. The site has 10 million users.
Rival Groupon is available in 300 cities and has 35 million worldwide users.
Result for: Group
According to multiple sources, Yahoo has made it clear it is willing to purchase deal-of-the-day behemoth Groupon for up to $4 billion USD.
Groupon localizes multiple deals per day to major markets in the United States. Offers range from coupons off food, to discounts on major surgeries, like laser eye corrective surgery.
Once a certain amount of users purchase the Groupon, the deal is activated.
Small businesses use Groupon as a way to get new clients in the door.
Although many other smaller rival services have popped up in the last year, Groupon remains the top dog in the market.
Yahoo has almost $3 billion in cash, and little debt.
