Ad-Supported Service Deezer Signs With Sony BMG

Sony BMG France has signed an agreement which will provide users of French ad-supported on-demand streaming service Deezer with unlimited free access to 165,000 titles.

In a press release issued by Deezer, Sony BMG France chairman and CEO Christophe Lameignère said the agreement was "a first step towards a new form of music usage, respectful of copyright in the digital environment." Sony BMG was unavailable for comments at press time.

"Deezer is a digital jukebox," explains co-founder Jonathan Benassaya. End-users, he says, upload their own music, which is then scanned via U.S. fingerprinting solution Music IP.

While the business model is currently based on advertising, Benassaya says Deezer is considering launching an unlimited download service, which would be based on paid subscriptions.

While he would not unveil the details of the deal, Benassaya says Sony BMG's remuneration is mainly based on a percentage of Deezer's advertising revenue.

In August, French authors, composers and publishers collecting society Sacem signed an agreement with Deezer, which was also based on an undisclosed share of its advertising revenues, with a minimum set per streaming packages.

"Deezer is a practical answer to piracy," says Benassaya, who adds that the firm is currently in talks with several European ISPs to integrate the music service in their offer. In August, France's third ISP Free added a permanent link to Deezer on its homepage. Benassaya says a new version of the service will arrive by the end of October, which will include a social network and music news features.

Named Blogmusik until last August, the service had actually closed in March 2007 after an action taken by Sacem and by independent record labels collecting society SPPF. The service vowed to go legal and re-launched in April. However, Universal Music France issued a press release in August protesting against the use of its catalog without their agreement.

Sony BMG is the first record company to grant their rights. Deezer's offering to date has included 250,000 titles from the four major companies and from many independent labels, many of which are uncleared. While acknowledging this, Benassaya says negotiations are ongoing with the remaining major companies. An agreement with SPPF is close, he says.

Deezer claims a million registered members to date, up from 300,000 a month ago.


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