Spotify To Launch In The US Today
Spotify has just announced via a press release that they will launch their service in the US today. There has been very little information given out and they plan to announce more information around 14.00 CET. The move has been an anticipated one and not an easy one for Spotify. It has been rumored that it has taken this long due to negotiations with the record labels among other issues. Nevertheless, this could seriously drive Spotify's revenues north during the rest of the year.
VC Per Capita: Europe $7, US $72, Israel $142
In Europe we've come to realise it that while there are certain hotspots, to among which Northern Europe is slowly growing into, venture capital in general is extremely scarce compared to other parts of the world. Jan Müehlfeit, Microsoft’s European chairman, spoke this week in Brussles to TechEurope, in a Microsoft Bizspark summit, about the differences and challenges Europe faces as an area for entrepreneurs. Venture capital is clearly one of them.
TechStars Outshines Y-Combinator As The Top Startup Accelerator Program In The US
When you mention startups, funding, mentoring and networking are the most essential ingredients needed by each aspiring founder. There are great ideas waiting to be put into practicality and the only thing that keeps them from shooting from their roots has been the absence of incubators and accelerator programs. Things have been changing and a number of startup accelerator programs and incubators have surfaced, this is where ideas are carved into reality, founders are provided guidance, the essential tips to direct them towards success and the ever needed funding.
Angel And Seed Rounds Increase In Size In The US
Fenwick and West have published another study full of interesting information regarding angel investments in the US. In the study titled Angel and Seed Financing survey in the internet/digital media and software industries they analysed the size of the rounds in 2010 as well as who lead the rounds among other things. There are some interesting findings here that possibly signal of new things in the horizon.
Zerply Wants To Be The Next Generation Professional Network
Zerply is California based startup, that has its roots in Sweden and Estonia, through its co-founders. Zerply aims to be the best way to present yourself in a professional way. What they currently have available to the public, is bunch of very stylish profile pages which integrate relatively seamlessly to other online services. However, there's a lot more in store according to Christofer Karltorp.
Playmysong Launches In The US
Playmysong is a Helsinki, Finland based startup making every mobile phone a control device for the digital jukebox in a restaurant. Last week the company announced that Overlook NYC bar near Grand Central terminal in New York has become the first venue in the United States to start using Playmysong. The company is tapping into the 160 million Apple mobile device market with their iPhone app. The basic service is free, but for a premium fee of $399 venues can get premium benefits as mood styled playlists and autoplay features.
US Might Never See Spotify, Of Course Unless It Kills Its "Freemium" Model
There has been quite a a hype about the Swedish Music Streaming company, Spotify setting its feet on the US soils and honestly many have been waiting for this for long. Sad news, Spotify has just drained all hopes by pulling off the US launch altogether, thanks to all sorts of roadblocks created by US record labels. Quite astonishing, given that the music streaming service should have been fully functional in the region before 2010 ended. Things have turned out contrary to all such expectations.
Emotionr Sold To Zallas Technologies
Little known Finnish beta service called Emotionr has been sold to Zallas Technologies in the US. The price was not disclosed, but my guess is that we're not talking about astronomical figures here based on the complexity of the free service. Furthermore, the service does not show significant amounts of traffic data in Compete.com statistics so the price for it might be a symbolic one.
