Rhapsody, Napster End Echo Nest Partnership, Announce 40% Paid Subscriber Growth

Rhaspody will "wind down" it partnership with The Echo Nest and invest in its own personalization platform, the music streamer announced today. The move comes just weeks after The Echo Nest was bought by Spotify. Rdio has also announced that it will end it's relationship with the music intelligence provider.

"The Echo Nest has been a good partner for us, but we have never been completely satisfied with recommendations from any third party. As the number two music streaming service globally, we decided now is the time to invest heavily in personalization based on our experience as a pioneer in streaming music for over 13 years.” said Paul Springer, Chief Product Officer and Rhapsody International’s Senior Vice President of the Americas.

 "As we continue to expand and drive growth on a global base – we now operate in 32 countries across Latin America and Europe – delivering a tailored, personalized listening experience for every customer cannot be outsourced," said Springer. "Customers shouldn’t notice any interruption and over the next several months they will experience a more personalized listening experience across both the Rhapsody and Napster applications.”

40% Paid Subscriber Growth

Rhapsody and Napster have had 40% growth in paying subscribers in the past two quarters and "continues to add thousands of global paying subscribers each day", according to a post on the company's blog.