High Res Deezer Elite service to debut internationally on September 15th
Deezer’s market entry in the US has always been a big question mark. The streaming service has the largest footprint worldwide in terms of presence - it’s available in over 180 countries - but so far it had consciously avoided the crowded and expensive US market. Until now.
The company today revealed that it would launch a new service - called Deezer Elite - that will target the audiophile market by providing its entire catalogue in a lossless format (FLAC).
The service will be available internationally from September 15th and the US will be included at launch, but the interesting twist is that Deezer Elite will only be available through Sonos systems - at least at the beginning.
The success of Pono's two crowdfunding campaigns has exponentially increased the interest in the high-quality audio market. Just days ago we also reported that Norwegian company WiMP, that has successfully experimented with hi-fi music streaming in its core markets, is getting ready to launch a high definition service named TIDAL in the US and the UK later this autumn.
Deezer Elite will cost twice as much as a normal streaming service and in that sense it matches the pricing specified by TIDAL at $19.99 per month. The company is making a real effort to draw customers in though, offering half price access for a full year to those that commit to 12 months with the service. Customers that want to pay on a monthly basis will only be charged $14.99 during this initial period.
US Sonos customers will be able to test out the service from September 15th and will receive a full months’ free trial. Given that Deezer has virtually no brand recognition in the US, the success of the service there could largely depend on how much Sonos is willing to push the new offering to its user base.
Obviously a key question mark is whether there is enough of an appetite for a higher-end service, but Deezer points to research published by the Consumer Electronics Association showing that four in ten consumers with a moderate interest in audio are willing to pay more for higher audio quality. Also according to the research, nine out of ten consumers say sound quality is the most important component of a quality audio experience.
The partnership with Sonos, while oddly restrictive, makes sense. Who better to test this new offering on that consumers who have proven interested in audio enough to purchase a dedicated system like Sonos?
At this time it is unclear whether US customers that pay for the Deezer Elite service will also have access to normal-quality streaming via the Deezer mobile app. The press release states “Listen to your music on any device, including smart phone, tablet and TV”.
Tyler Goldman, CEO of Deezer North America, commented: “Deezer has built a global audience of over 16 million people by meeting the many needs of music consumers. Audio enthusiasts no longer have to choose between a streaming service and high quality audio, with Deezer Elite they can have both for the first time.” […] “We are focused on super-serving the needs of underserved market segments to continue to grow the music streaming category.”
Sonos CEO John MacFarlane, weighed in to state that: “The world of streaming is accelerating and as great music services like Deezer expand, it's an exciting thing for our customers.” […] "With the introduction of Deezer Elite, you can easily stream your favorite music in high definition audio on any Sonos speaker throughout the home."
So, all eyes on HRA - High-Resolution Audio. If this recent wave of interest in sound quality continues we’re likely to see more streaming services jump on the bandwagon before the end of the year.
(Andrea Leonelli)