By Hannah Karp
Deezer, the French music streaming service, has appointed a new
boss as it prepares for a full-scale launch in the already crowded
U.S. market.
Eight months after the departure of former leader Axel Dauchez,
the company has named as chief executive Hans-Holger Albrecht, the
head of one of Deezer's telecom partners, Millicom International
Cellular.
Mr. Albrecht, who will start at Deezer in February, has served
as CEO at Millicom and previously as CEO at Modern Times Group, a
European media group operating in television, radio and new media,
among other sectors. He declined to comment through a
spokeswoman.
Didier Bench, chairman of Deezer's board of directors, said Mr.
Albrecht was selected based on a number of criteria, including his
international business experience, including overseeing
subscription media services, both free and paid.
Deezer has 16 million users in 180 countries around the world,
six million of whom pay $10-a-month subscriptions. But it has only
been available in the U.S. since September, and only to users of
high-fidelity sound systems made by Sonos Inc. and Bose Corp. The
Anglo-Swedish streaming service Spotify AB, by comparison, counts
50 million global users, 12.5 million of whom are paying
subscribers, and has been operating in the U.S. for several
years.
Mr. Bench said Deezer will make a full U.S. debut in early 2015,
making its service available to the general public. He added that
the company has waited this long to do so because it wants to make
the strongest possible start, using an array of strategic marketing
and distribution partners.
It still may be tough going, though. After Beats Music made a
splashy debut earlier this year with a Super Bowl commercial and
partners including Target Corp. and AT&T Inc., the service only
amassed a few hundred thousand subscribers in the first six months.
Apple Inc. acquired Beats Music, along with its headphone-making
counterpart Beats Electronics, in May.
Deezer doesn't see itself as going head-to-head with services
like Spotify and Beats Music here, though, Mr. Bench said. It plans
to make a bigger play, appealing not just to people who want to
listen to unlimited music on-demand, but also to those who want a
more passive, radio-like listening experience, such as Pandora
Media Inc.'s nearly 80 million active monthly users, most of whom
don't pay.
To that end, Deezer earlier this year introduced a feature
called "Flow, " a single customized radio station for users based
on what their listening habits and library collections. Flow
doesn't require users to enter a mood, song, or genre to start the
music, as do some of its competitors.
Still, Deezer is hardly the only streaming service to offer both
types of listening experiences. Spotify offers a custom radio
feature as well, and Apple is planning to relaunch Beats Music as
part of iTunes next year. Apple's free iTunes Radio service already
has tens of millions of users.
Write to Hannah Karp at hannah.karp@wsj.com
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