The cultural and economical impact of music streaming services has been one of the biggest changes to the music industry lanscape in recent years, as best characterised by the recent IFPI Digital Music Report that showed global music sales experienced a growth for the first time since the launch of Napster (that’s 1999 folks).
While more and more users sign on to the bevy of on-demand music services already available, there are even more on the way, such as the recently launched Songl, a partnership between Aussie network giant Southern Cross Austereo and label majors Sony and Universal, as well as Twitter, Google, Apple, and Trent Reznor manning Beats Music’s allegedly revolutionary Beats Music service.
Which all means that those in the music streaming boom need to something more to get an edge on their competitors; Deezer, who are still jostling with market leader Spotify, are looking to do just that.
The French-born company has already expanded its reach, launching in Australia as well as expanding internationally in multiple territories. Now they’ve upgraded services including their API and a series of new apps.
Basically, API refers to the communication technology Deezer users to integrate its music service across users’ different music platforms, such as their laptop, iPhone, and tablet devices.
In a press statement released this week, the music streaming service announced that the upgrades to their API services also includes an “affiliate program for developers;” meaning that companies who plug Deezer and build apps using Deezer’s API, will be rewarded financially for the subscribers they bring to Deezer.“Music streaming isn’t about giving people access to soulless databases of songs – we want to build an immersive and entertaining experience that gets people hooked on Deezer.”- Alex Dauchez, Deezer CEO
The press release explains that: “This will enable developers building music into their social apps with the API to be financially rewarded for every person they refer to Deezer who goes on to subscribe. Every time a person subscribes to Deezer after discovering the service through an app, the developer will receive a payment equivalent to a month’s Deezer subscription.
It’s a move the company hopes will generate more sign ups but also offer a “fluid” experience so that music fans on other sites, apps and games can be introduced to the streaming site, which currently holds 20 million songs in its library.
The company’s CEO, Axel Dauchez, commented that “music streaming isn’t about giving people access to soulless databases of songs – we want to build an immersive and entertaining experience that gets people hooked on Deezer. Our affiliate scheme and API improvements will help developers seamlessly bring music into their greatest apps. We can’t wait to see what they’ll build.”
The new affiliate program has potential benefits for musicians as well. If a band or artist can plug Deezer or direct their fans to the streaming site, it is a chance for extra revenue to be collected in a move that could be a win-win for both music streaming sites and musicians, similar to the artist paying scheme that Rdio set up last October.
Deezer also revealed its now set to include a series of new apps and a new social feed where the friends’ apps are more visible to their service.
There’ll be an Askking Music app, where Deezer fans can challenge their friends to name tracks from shared playlists, Seevl, an app for discovering new music, and most curious of all, Moosify, a kind of musical dating service.Deezer also revealed its now set to include a series of new apps… and most curious of all, Moosify, a kind of musical dating service.
Plugged as an app that allows users to meet up based on their shared musical tastes, the official Moosify website describes it as an “exciting and simple way to meet cool new people through music.” The site proposes “David Gueeta or Green Day? Dancefloor, Coffee Shop or Pub?” as a means of romantic potential (maybe it’d be handy to find people to avoid as well).
The three new in-service apps add to the 35 that Deezer has already developed in the last six months and users can be sure more are to come.
“Developers and the amazing apps they build are incredibly important to Deezer and make the platform a richer experience. We’re giving developers a set of tools to reach new audiences anywhere in the world, make money, and create incredible experiences across any device,” said Partnership Manager Axel Calandre in the press release.
In other music streaming news, Australian company Southern Cross Austero are set to launch their own streaming services Songl in collaboration with Sony and Universal with radio DJs from Austereo owned networks like Triple M and 2Day to provide recommended playlists and video content.
As previously reported, Twitter are venturing beyond being a social media site and set to launch their very own music service after buying Australian music aggregator We Are Hunted. The simply named, Twitter Music is set to be up and running by the end of the month.
Even Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has been busy brewing over the Beats Music steaming service, with the musician talking up how the new music service will revolutionise the streaming service market, by providing a facility that essentially wraps up Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, and Ticketek all in one-stop music service.
