Third-party services are great, until they get acquired by giant companies with agendas that are different than yours. That was the case with BigChampagne (purchased by Live Nation), Rightsflow (purchased by Google), and We Are Hunted (purchased by Twitter), and it’s definitely the case with The Echo Nest, acquired by Spotify.
Which brings us to Rhapsody, the latest streaming service to cancel The Echo Nest. This was just posted on the Rhapsody blog.
“Rhapsody and Napster to Wind Down Partnership with the Echo Nest”
“The Echo Nest has been a good partner for us, but we have never been completely satisfied with recommendations from any third party. As the number two music streaming service globally, we decided now is the time to invest heavily in personalization based on our experience as a pioneer in streaming music for over 13 years.” said Paul Springer, Chief Product Officer and Rhapsody International’s Senior Vice President of the Americas.
“As we continue to expand and drive growth on a global base – we now operate in 32 countries across Latin America and Europe – delivering a tailored, personalized listening experience for every customer cannot be outsourced.”
Customers shouldn’t notice any interruption and over the next several months they will experience a more personalized listening experience across both the Rhapsody and Napster applications.”
Rhapsody and Napster has driven 40 percent paying subscriber growth in the past two quarters and continues to add thousands of global paying subscribers each day.
About Rhapsody International
Rhapsody International is parent company of leading streaming music services, Rhapsody and Napster. Initially launched in December 2001, Rhapsody is the original streaming music service that gives members unlimited on-demand access to more than 32 million songs, whether they’re listening on a PC, laptop, Internet connected home stereo or TV, MP3 player or mobile phone. In December 2011, Rhapsody International acquired Napster International. Rhapsody International is headquartered in Seattle, with offices across the U.S. and Europe. Rhapsody and the Rhapsody logo are registered trademarks of Rhapsody International Inc. Follow @Rhapsody on Twitter and keep up with the latest on the Rhapsody Facebook page.
(image created by Rhapsody, not Digital Music News)
The post Rhapsody: We Never Really Liked the Echo Nest, Anyway… appeared first on Digital Music News.