Daniel Ek, CEO of the European live streaming music site Spotify, gave the final keynote for SXSW Interactive 2010. He was interviewed by Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired.com.
Currently, Spotify is only available in Europe but they are examining ways to have the site in the United States. The biggest issue for having the site in the U.S. is licensing (well, yeah).
Ek gave an overview of the site and discussed using mobile technology with Spotify. He said phones come equipped with Spotify in Sweden, his home country. Ek said the first few months free to access the site are free and they continue to expand partnerships with mobile carriers in Europe.
Revenue for the site is generated in various ways according to Ek. People pay with time by watching targeted advertising, which Spotify can charge more for.
Van Buskirk asked what was in the future for Spotify in the next five years. Watch Ek’s response.
Ek said the music industry and technology are on the same page for first time ever.
“Music is one of the most social objects we have,” he said. “If you can access it anywhere, manufacturers will find value in that.”
Overall, I enjoyed this keynote quite a bit. They even did a question and answer (gasp!) at the end of Ek’s remarks. I’m not sure when or if we will Spotify in the U.S., but it would be great to see a little friendly competition with iTunes.
Maira Garcia 