It’s relatively rare to find several streaming music services on the same conference panel, so yesterday’s SXSW session with Spotify, Rdio and Xbox Music (as well as Metal Blade Records and Crush Music and Media Management) sounds quite the draw. The key theme was the streaming firms pushing back against artist holdouts. “I think these are fringe cases that get played up in the media… It’s the exception rather than the rule, and I don’t understand the reasoning for the ones who decide to do that,” said Spotify’s Steve Savoca. “I’ve talked to quite a few managers of artists who are holding out and they can never give me a good reason,” agreed Xbox Music’s Christina Calio. And Rdio’s Adam Rabinovitz suggested that “no one who understands the opportunity presented by these services, especially with regards to discovery, willfully chooses not to be on them”. Other topics seem to have got shorter shrift. Tomahawk.fm mischief-maker Jason Herskowitz was in the audience and tweeted this: “Asked panel of Spotify, Rdio and Xbox Music how far we are from war of big checks for streaming exclusivity. *crickets*”
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