Sonos launched its ad-supported Sonos Radio streaming service in April 2020, and followed it up with a subscription tier called Sonos Radio HD later that year. In both cases, its partner was Napster, whose B2B arm powered the streaming. However, that now appears to be changing.
Deezer has announced that it now has a “long-term partnership” with Sonos to power both of its streaming radio services, starting in April. The partnership will cover 16 countries including the US, UK, France and Germany, with Deezer providing the music catalogue, metadata, licensing, reporting and royalty management, and “ongoing innovation to develop and expand the Sonos music experience”.
It’s a coup for Deezer’s B2B business, which in the first nine months of 2022 (according to its financial results) accounted for 26.3% of the company’s revenues.
A blow for Napster? Well, having been acquired again, that company is pivoting towards web3 technologies and artist tools, so B2B partnerships may be less of a priority.
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