Hollywood Popular Artists

Apr 26th 2012, 18:26

By Zachary Swickey

Spotify, the music streaming service that has taken the United States by storm, is reportedly in the process of creating their own Internet radio service that would compete with current giant Pandora, according to a Bloomberg report.

The report suggests that the new service from Spotify is expected to launch sometime before 2013 and will be an ad-supported website. Spotify has reportedly already begun discussions with music companies to secure deals for the new service.

If you've been left in the dark on Spotify, the music streaming program had been a huge hit overseas for several years before finally hitting stateside shores in July of last year and has slowly generated a solid user base.

The company currently boasts 10 million active users with 3 million of them subscribing to the service rather than opt for the free ad-supported version. The large number of users has shot the company's value to upwards of $3.5 billion.

Spotify's new service would have to compete with current online streaming radio behemoth Pandora, which has long been the stream of choice for its ability to help you discover new bands that you're likely to dig.

To put into perspective the stranglehold that Pandora already has, the company's active listener base swelled in March to 51 million. The radio service currently streams over one billion listener hours every month, which is up an impressive 88 percent from the same time last year.

Spotify is keeping its lips sealed and said there is "no announcement at this time" when questioned.

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