Spotify Closes First U.S. Deal With Sony

Last week, rumors surfaced that Spotify was close to a U.S. deal with Sony. That rumor has turned out to be true. Sony has finally signed up with Spotify. Before they launch in the U.S. though, Spotify will need support from at least two other labels, one of which needs to be Universal, as they're the largest.

Reports indicate that the terms in the Sony deal is favorable, allowing them to offer a service similar to the one they have in Europe.

For several hours a month, users can stream music for free – with adverts. Then they'll have the choice of paying for an ad-free version or the mobile app.

Other major label deals could soon follow, but it's also possible that the deal with Sony will place them in a worse negotiating positing. Now that Spotify is closer to the launch mode, the other labels could try to squeeze more money out of them.

Yes, a newly inked deal with Sony does give Spotify more leverage to convince the others to get onboard. However, now the next few deals mean all that much more to Spotify, it could be used against them. It's unclear how close Spotify is to other deals, but at least they'll have something to celebrate while at MIDEM.

Stay tuned. we'll report, as this story develops futher.