The new challenge of the little frog of music streaming

Deezer is a web-based music streaming service created about ten years ago. It now seeks to conquer the American audience and play with the big cats on a booming market.

Over 6 million subscribers in the world

Deezer was born in 2007 in the business incubator offices of the ESSEC School. About ten years after its creation, the platform of music streaming boasts 6 million subscribers in 180 countries. With 10€/month, the premium offer allows you to listen to over 40 million high quality songs without advertisement, online or offline, on your computer or your mobile. Part of its catalogue is also available for free.

Aiming for the general public in the US

In 2015, Deezer raised 100 million euros to boost its global influence. The company ambitions to become a major player of musical streaming in the United States: on the 19th of July 2016, the German CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht, announced that the platform would now be accessible to the American audience.

Deezer is already a seasoned player of the American market. Over the last years, several partnerships allowed to gradually grow its reputation: with Sonos and Bose, the company has developed a high quality offer to listen to CD quality music. But this time, Deezer wants to go solo. Its premium offer is now open to American users for 10$/month, which is less than 9€.

A bold American bet

The United States are a big prey for the young French company. The music streaming market is in full bloom and now generates more revenues than the sale of hard copies of CDs. Over the course of the first semester of 2016, revenues grew by about 60%, reaching a record number of 114 billion songs played.

But the challenge is still big: to successfully enter the American market, Deezer must play with mighty competitors. In first line: Spotify and Apple Music register 35 and 15 million subscribers, but also Tidal, the music streaming platform created by American rapper Jay Z, boasts 4 million users. YouTube will also be a heavyweight competitor.

But against the giants of music industry, Deezer has a major asset: its catalogue is now the biggest of the market.

Photos © Deezer