Sony Network Entertainment International and Spotify Announce Global Strategic Partnership to Bring the Best in Music to PlayStation™Network

SAN MATEO, Calif. and STOCKHOLM, Jan. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (SNEI) and Spotify today announced a global strategic partnership to deliver a best-in-class digital music experience to PlayStation Network and its 64 million active users¹. Through this partnership, SNEI will launch a new music destination in Spring 2015 called PlayStation Music, with Spotify as the exclusive partner. Spotify on PlayStation Music will roll out in 41 markets, initially for PlayStation® consoles and Xperia™ smartphones and tablets.

"Music is a core component of the entertainment offering that consumers expect from Sony, and our goal with PlayStation Music is to provide the most compelling music experiences to the millions of PlayStation Network users around the world," said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Group Executive in charge of the Network Entertainment Business. "This partnership represents the best in music and the best in gaming coming together, which will benefit the vibrant and passionate communities of both Spotify and PlayStation Network. We're thrilled to make Spotify the foundation of our strategy with PlayStation Music."

PlayStation Network and Spotify's award-winning digital music service will be deeply integrated, offering unique and exclusive benefits to users. PlayStation Network users can link their accounts with Spotify, making it easy to subscribe to Spotify's Premium service through the PlayStation Network wallet.

"We are incredibly honored to partner with Sony and PlayStation to give gamers around the world an amazing experience wherever they listen to music," said Daniel Ek, CEO and Founder, Spotify. "As a gamer and PlayStation 4 user myself, I'm super excited to be able to soundtrack my FIFA 15 Arsenal matches later this spring."

Spotify on PlayStation Music will offer more than 30 million songs and 1.5 billion playlists on PlayStation®4 (PS4™) and PlayStation®3 (PS3™) systems, as well as Xperia smartphones and tablets. Users will be able to create a music collection and listen to playlists (including existing playlists from current Spotify users as well as Spotify curated playlists) and enjoy the service on all of Spotify's supported devices.  Additionally, PS4 owners will be able to use Spotify while playing games, enabling them to soundtrack their gaming sessions with their favorite songs playing in the background.

SNEI's current Music Unlimited service will close in all 19 countries on March 29, 2015. Nearly all of these countries will be among the 41 markets² where PlayStation Music featuring Spotify will be available at launch³. From February 28, 2015, Music Unlimited users with active subscriptions will receive up to 30 days of free access to Music Unlimited through March 29, 2015, and will be offered an introductory Spotify Premium trial. 

For more details on the partnership, Spotify and PSN users can sign up for updates here: http://www.spotify.com/playstation. 

¹ Number of active users includes Sony Entertainment Network accounts.

² PlayStation Music featuring Spotify launch markets: Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UK and USA

³ The PS Music service in Japan is not yet determined. Further details will be announced when ready. 

About Sony Network Entertainment International LLC:
Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (SNEI) founded in April 2010, drives the vision, strategy and execution for network services across Sony Group, to offer consumers compelling, connected entertainment experiences across a variety of network enabled devices. Headquartered out of San Mateo, California SNEI's operations span globally across San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, London, Tokyo and more. Through PlayStation®Network and Sony Entertainment Network, SNEI offers a bevy of exciting services including PlayStation®Store, PlayStation®Plus, PlayStation™Vue, Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited and more. With over 64 million active viewers registered to our network and FY13 revenues exceeding 200 billion yen, SNEI is a core Sony business which continues to grow at breakneck speed as a leading provider of cutting edge digital entertainment experiences.

About Spotify:
Spotify is an award-winning digital music service that gives you on-demand access to over 30 million tracks. Our dream is to make all the world's music available instantly to everyone, wherever and whenever you want it. Spotify makes it easier than ever to discover, manage and share music with your friends, while making sure that artists get a fair deal.

Spotify is now available in 58 markets globally with more than 60 million active users, and over 15 million paying subscribers.

Since its launch in Sweden in 2008, Spotify has driven more than $2 billion to rights holders. Spotify is now the second biggest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe, and the biggest and most successful music streaming service of its kind globally.

www.spotify.com

"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.. PS3, PS4 and PSN are trademarks of the same company.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Sony Network Entertainment International LLC