14 DAY TRIAL // Rhapsody, the parent company of Napster, has decided to take its unRadio service outside the United States as it announced passing the 2 million paying subscribers mark.
The company made the announcement late Monday, proud to have reached the 2 million mark, one that the music streaming service has been “hunting” since 2011, when it hit the first million, making for a really slow growth rate.
The digital music service is available in some 32 countries with both Rhapsody and Napster, but its unRadio service is at its first steps outside the United States. Of course, considering the service was only launched last month in partnership with T-Mobile, it’s not exactly surprising that it is only now starting to spread its wings.
In Europe, unRadio will partner with SRF, the second largest French mobile operator. In France, the service is going under Napster Découverte (Napster Discovery), and it will basically offer the same service options as in the United States. Listeners will be able to skip as many songs as they want and listen to music without advertising in exchange of €3.95 ($5.31) per month.
“We are very satisfied with the development of Napster in France and the successful co-operation with SFR. France is one of the fastest growing markets in Europe. The success of our service proves that customers are eager for a blend of on-demand and mobile data bundles,” said Thorsten Schliesche, Napster SVP and GM for Europe.
Even though Rhapsody was one of the first companies to adopt the monthly fees, the service is way behind competitors such as Spotify, which recently revealed that it has 10 million subscribers and some 40 million active users.
While Rhapsody has said there are 2 million users on all platforms, it is unclear just how many users unRadio has managed to amass in the short time since it has become available in the United States.
Rhapsody and Napster are also trying to become a bigger player in the markets of Latin American countries. With the help of a deal it struck with Telefonica Movistar, a Spanish carrier that also operates in South America, Napster Premier will be promoted in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
Rhapsody has been around since 2001, re-launching in 2010 as a standalone company, separate from RealNetworks, its former parent company. In 2011, it acquired Napster, one of the most controversial names in Internet history. Nowadays, the once P2P file trading service is a respectable pay-per-listen tool that pays hefty fees to the music industry.