Spotify opens in Hong Kong, Mexico and more
The popular music-subscription service Spotify will soon be streaming even wider.
The Swedish-English firm announced that it will expand its services into eight new markets, including Mexico, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. It will also fortify its main bulwark in Europe, opening in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Iceland.
Spotify currently sports 24 million users and 6 million paying subscription customers. The free version of Spotify includes occasional advertisements, while paid versions are ad-free. The service also recently announced forays into streaming video and original content.
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The expansion opens up a bevy of new markets for the service, which has largely been based in Western Europe and America. Its much ballyhooed U.S. launch underperformed expectations, with fewer customers ponying up for the paid version than the company had hoped.
Still, this move is the service’s first reach into large and growing Latin American and Asian markets. As compact disc sales continue to wither as a medium for younger music fans, services like Spotify remain one of few ascendant ways that tech-inclined audiences will pay for music.
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