Soundrop calls it a day after Spotify removes desktop client apps

Soundrop calls it a day after Spotify removes desktop client apps


Soundrop, the service that allowed Spotify users to have a communal “experience” of music by letting them enter virtual listening rooms dedicated to specific artists or genres, has decided to call it a day after Spotify’s decision to phase out all apps from its desktop client. The service will stop operating on the 31st of December 2014.

Spotify’s decision was not unexpected since the company had announced that it would stop accepting submissions for new client-based apps months ago, favoring third party apps that access the company's catalogue via APIs.

Soundrop does have an iOS mobile app and an integration with Deezer, but losing a significant portion of its traffic, coupled with the difficulty in monetising a “man in the middle” service that facilitates user interaction with a third party paid service, must have led to the decision to abandon the project.

Soundrop’s founders are currently involved with a parallel service called Show.co, which provides artists with a neat way to market their releases. The service enables bands to showcase their latest release whilst integrating links to digital music stores and displaying “conversion cards” which are calls to action prompting users to sign up to their newsletter or to like the band on Facebook.

Even though Soundrop relied on streaming services to serve music to fans and thus didn’t face the same issues and costs around licensing that caused Turntable.fm to call it a day, the end of the company’s journey is a clear indicator of how hard it is to monetise a service focused on curation and social engagement when it only acts as intermediary between users and the content provider.



(Andrea Leonelli)