Sony To Close Music Unlimited, Partners With Spotify For New Service

One major sign that a sector is heating up is the quantity and quality of the deal making, as rivals jockey for position. By that, and almost any other measure, streaming music is on fire; and today's announcement that Sony Music Limited will shut down to be replaced by a new partnership with Spotify is a major win for the pre-IPO startup.

Sony Network Entertainment and Spotify today announced a global partnership to deliver digital music to the PlayStation Network's 64 million active users. Under the deal, Sony will shutter its own Music Unlimited service this Spring, and launch PlayStation Music with Spotify as its exclusive partner.

Spotify on PlayStation Music will roll out in 41 markets, initially for PlayStation consoles and Xperia smartphones and tablets.

Sony Music Unlimited To Close March 29th

To make room for Spotify, Sony is closing its Music Unlimited service in all 19 countries on March 29. Nearly all of these countries will be among the 41 markets where PlayStation Music featuring Spotify will be available at launch. From February 28, Music Unlimited users with active subscriptions will receive free access to Music Unlimited through March 29, 2015, and will be offered an introductory Spotify Premium trial. 

PS4 owners will be able to use Spotify while playing games. “We are incredibly honored to partner with Sony and PlayStation to give gamers around the world an amazing experience wherever they listen to music,” said Daniel Ek, CEO and Founder, Spotify. “As a gamer and PlayStation 4 user myself, I’m super excited to be able to soundtrack my FIFA 15 Arsenal matches later this spring.”