Deezer goes global but spurns US and Japan

Deezer goes global but spurns US and Japan
Deezer: going three quarters global

Deezer plans to sing the world a song by launching its web-based music service in 200 countries by the end of June 2012, but the US and Japan won't be among them.

The music service, which claims to have "invented music streaming" (think a couple of other companies might have a thing or two to say about this), puts this America-Japan snub down to its dedication to the globalisation of music.

Wait, run that by us again? "Deezer strongly believes in the globalisation of music and has chosen not to focus on the USA and Japan, which only represent 25 per cent of global music consumption, due to market saturation and low growth forecasts."

It smacks of a fear of failure in those territories – after all, there's no "only" about a quarter of the world when you're claiming to launch a global service.

Not quite global then, eh?

Still, Ireland, the Netherlands and the rest of Europe will all see a Deezer launch before the year is out, while Canada, Latin America, Australasia, Africa and the rest of the world will follow suit by 30 June 2012.

Deezer launched in the UK in this autumn, finding success in a deal that sees the music service baked in to Orange smartphones and plans to announce more tel-co tie-ins for the new locations in January.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.