Rumor Mill: HTC developing streaming music service

HTC reportedly is building a music streaming service designed to differentiate its Android smartphones and tablets from rival devices, while at the same time threatening the dominance of digital media upstarts like Spotify.

Citing sources familiar with HTC's plans, GigaOM reports the manufacturer is developing the streaming platform in partnership with music producer and Interscope-Geffen-A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine. In August 2011, HTC purchased a $300 million, 51 percent majority stake in Beats Electronics, the headphone maker founded by Iovine and hip-hop icon Dr. Dre. At that time, HTC Peter Chou told reporters "I think this partnership is really built on the core belief that amazing audio is a key to the mobile experience. HTC is always looking for opportunities to differentiate and create emotional experiences with consumers. We think that this a very good opportunity for HTC to continue to differentiate in the market."

Although HTC and Iovine are still fleshing out pricing and other details, the current plan calls for a streaming solution preloaded as the default music client on HTC devices--the company could formally announce the service as soon as this month's Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain. In a recent conference call with analysts, HTC said it is building LTE-based devices that could reach retail in the second quarter of 2012, although it unclear whether the music service might also roll out within that timeframe.

GigaOM speculates Iovine will leverage his power and connections within the music industry to bring other recording labels into the fold--in the past, major labels have been reluctant to offer their catalogs to streaming music services, fearing the emergence of another monopoly on par with Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes. Spotify, which offers on-demand access to more than 15 million songs, only went live in the U.S. last summer after months of delays involving music executive concerns over the service's business model, with labels reportedly pressuring Spotify to jettison free access in favor of a guaranteed revenue stream. Spotify recently announced that more than 3 million subscribers worldwide have signed up for its premium offering.

Music is not the option HTC is exploring to improve its market standing: Earlier this week, Pocket-lint reported the manufacturer has secured PlayStation Suite gaming certification from Sony Corporation, enabling gamers to play classic PlayStation titles like Crash Bandicoot and Gran Turismo across HTC mobile devices.

For more:
- read this GigaOM article

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