Music streaming service Deezer has boosted its bid to challenge Spotify by announcing a licensing deal that brings tunes from a host of the world's biggest independent labels.
The French-based site, which has over 20 million members and a library of over 15-million tracks has reached an accord with Merlin, the global rights agency for indies.
The labels represented by Merlin account for a whopping ten per cent of the digital music available worldwide, so the deal comes as a substantial fillip for Deezer as it looks to expand its reach.
It means the artists from Rough Trade (Arcade Fire, The Strokes), Epitaph (Weezer, New Found Glory), Warp (Aphex Twin), Tommy Boy, Phonofile and Sub Pop will now become available.
Increased competition
Deezer, which is now available in 50 countries, arrived on UK soil in October last year armed with an attractive and functional service determined to battle the likes of Spotify and We7.
The company brought along impressive iPad, iPhone and Android apps, as well as the desktop traditional client, but there's no ad-supported free mode.
The company, like Spotify, offers unlimited monthly listening on laptop or desktop computers, while unlocking the mobile apps will cost £9.99 a month.
Along with Spotify, Napster and We7, Deezer now faces increased competition with the arrival of US-based service Rdio in the United Kingdom.
Via: TheNextWeb
