Spotify has signed a global brand partnership with Coca-Cola that will see the streaming music service becoming “the key underlying technology for Coca-Cola Music globally”, including an integration into Coke’s Facebook presence. There’s also a somewhat-vague promise of a campaign to give “fans around the world universal access to music” to be announced later this year. And Coca-Cola will also be launching a Spotify app for the 2012 Olympic Games, which was developed earlier this month at a co-branded ‘hacker den’.
Coke will also be a partner for Spotify as it launches in new countries in 2012 and 2013, presumably on the advertising front. “This will bring awareness to more people around the world about Spotify and enable them to share music with family and friends,” said CEO Daniel Ek at the event.
Earlier in the day, he confirmed that AT&T, McDonald’s, Intel and Reebok are making branded apps for Spotify’s platform. What’s missing for now is any information on the potential can-of-worms of artist opt-outs. What if Coca-Cola prominently features an artist with a Pepsi sponsorship deal in its app? What if McDonald’s promotes a Morrissey playlist? Far-fetched examples perhaps, but key questions that Spotify and other music services will face as they work more closely with brands.
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