It's no secret. Germany is universally known as a 'tough nut to crack' for legal digital music services. But there is hope, with recently launched streaming sites like Simfy now surpassing one million users and beginning to expand into other markets like Switzerland. The question on most people's lips is will Simfy sink or swim? In this cross border exclusive for Popkomm and All Together Now, the CEO and founder of Simfy Steffen Wicker will explain the business model, milestones and how it approaches the tricky issue of licensing. In contrast to Germany, the UK has a more matured and diversified digital market which is almost twice the size of Germany, despite having a smaller population. PRS for Music has been licensing online services since 2002, long before iTunes and the Pirate Bay, and their chief economist Will Page will bring exclusive insights on Simfy, the economics of streaming music and trends in the digital music market from the UK and around the world, to help rights holders and users understand each other better.
Links: www.prsformusic.com/economics and www.simfy.com