Spotify executives say Apple delayed their entrance into the U.S.

The D10 conference always leaves us with a few interesting nuggets of information that otherwise wouldn’t come to light. Streaming music service Spotify was asked about their much-delayed entrance into the United States after a successful European debut, and whether or not Apple played a role in dragging out their negotiations with the music industry for almost two and a half years.

While Spotify CEO Daniel Ek demurred to add much, he did say that Apple appeared to feel threatened by their business model. Spotify Director Sean Parker was a bit more forthcoming, saying that “it’s a very small industry in a lot of ways,” and that they had heard that Apple was working behind the scenes to block or delay Spotify’s entrance into the U.S. market.

While no other specifics were provided, the two men did indicate that they thought negotiations would take 6-12 weeks to complete, a far cry from the 128 or so weeks that it took to finally nail down licensing agreements. Highlights of the interview are embedded below; if you just want to see the comments about Apple and entering the U.S. they start at the 8:18 mark.



source: AllThingsD via electronista