Simfy, the so-called German Spotify, has struck a strategic partnership with O2 Germany (Telefónica).
In a similar arrangement to Aspiro-owned WiMP’s recent on-deck deal with telco Telenor in Scandinavia, the simfy music streaming service will be pre-installed on handsets sold through O2 and integrated into its app store, web site and retail points of sale.
Likewise, all of O2 Germany’s 14m subscribers can opt in for a free 1-month trial of simfy and should they wish to continue using the streaming music service on their mobile, they can take up a simfy premium subscription at a discounted rate, which like Spotify supports mobile access and offline playback. At this point, however, it obligatory to point out that Spotify isn’t yet available in Germany where simfy appears to be bedding down.
To that end, this is the third major distribution tie-up that simfy has secured in the last three months, having already partnered with the social networking group VZ Networks and cable operator Kabel Deutschland.
At the time that the tie-in with VZ networks was announced, the company described it as part of a wider B2B strategy whereby simfy wants to bundle its music streaming service with a variety of partners – social networks, internet service providers, cable operators and mobile network operators – and was said to be as “key to scaling both our service and brand within Germany and for our planned internationalization”.
No sign yet of that international aspect but certainly today’s partnership with O2 Germany is evidence of the former.