At the end of 2007 they were 42 to steal

Free music does not necessarily detract from labels. Services of streaming, which offer the application without downloading music, bloom on the canvas with the blessing them, won an impressive audience success. The companies of The Leading Question and Music Ally study even found a start of migration of the piracy of content to listen to legal music streaming. In England, 65 of teens listen to music legally on the Internet and less than 30 of them download illegally. At the end of 2007, they were 42 to steal.

In France, on the first nine months of 2009, streaming and paid subscription offerings represented a quarter of the total market for digital music, 13.8 million euros according to the national Union of phonographic Edition (SNEP). A performance for an almost non-existent offer two years ago. But that does not yet to the legal sites, even for a sustainable economic model.

Advertising is not enough

For all players, the principle is the same: in exchange for access to the catalogues of music majors, streaming sites must pay a guaranteed minimum, regardless of the number of users. The entry ticket is very high: in France, approaching EUR 1 million per year and major. And this is not all: beyond a certain sales, the majors pay directly with a revenue-sharing. "The model can be profitable, but it generates little sales and margin, believes Jonathan Benassaya, co-founder of Deezer." We pay between 4 and 6 million euros a year in the music industry for access to the catalogues. Beyond a certain threshold of sales, in the order of EUR 6 million, we need to share between 50 and 60 of our revenues.

Initially, this is advertising to finance access to catalogues. But it does not reach the minimum guarantee by the majors. Deezer view enjoy 2 to 2.5 euros per year and per user with advertising. Insufficient. Especially as the number of users to trend to reach a ceiling, with more than 6 million unique visitors per month. "We have other choices to offer pay-TV offers, says Jonathan Benassaya.". With them, can generate 2.5 euros of margin by Subscriber.

Remains to convince users to open their portfolio by offering new services: access without advertising, better quality sound, possibility to store the pieces of his choice on his PC or a portable music player... Deezer, which launched a pay offer in the fall, estimated to convert 2-3 of its users. An ambitious goal, according to some observers. The oldest of the French players, MusicMe, proposes paying subscriptions since 2006 and has failed his bet, despite a drop in the price of the service of 14.95 euros to 9.95 euros per month. "We expect tens of thousands of subscribers," explains Arnaud Masson, co-founder of MusicMe. But the technical constraints of this type of offer, available only on PC and Walkman (excluding iPod in the case of MusicMe, Editor's note), limited his interest. The future is not based on this model. We let our colleagues discover by themselves. "In parallel, he offers for download by package.

Swedish Spotify, with 6 million users registered in Europe in its free listening service, has taken two years to sign agreements with majors. In passing, the company has same due their open capital to 17.3. Spotify offers a free basic service, financed by advertising banners and audio spots, relating between 8 and 10 euros for 1000 broadcast messages. It also offers a pay version. "We want to also test the sale of concert tickets,"merchandising", and the sale of songs", indicates Annina Svensson, Director France of Spotify.

RealNetworks advance masked

The American RealNetworks, which offers US a close service Deezer, called "Rhapsody", chose a different path in Europe: work with telecommunications operators. It provides them in white mark of offers of Music Unlimited streaming or download. The user is charged by the operator, on his phone bill. "We have agreements with Vodafone in 9 European countries and with SFR in France, added Andreas Spechtler.". We offer our catalogues of songs and our technology platform operators. Therefore, we pay no marketing cost. "On its unlimited listening service, RealNetworks has 1.2 million subscribers in Europe and Korea in the South. But the company recognizes that this brings him that "a few cents per user."

The guaranteed minima imposed by the majors for access to their catalogues began to react with the public authorities. In a report published late November, the Secretary of State for the development of the digital, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, stressed "the need to review the distribution of the value within the same right holders and between them and distribution platforms, taking today to their support much of the investment for the promotion of the artist". A threat barely veiled from the majors.