It seems that shortly after Paris-based music streaming service, Deezer, announced that they would be expanding to US markets come 2014, a new rumor has surfaced suggesting that Microsoft could be interested in acquiring the company for themselves. As it stands Deezer has about 5 million paid subscribers which isn’t too far behind Spotify’s 7 million paid subscribers, that and the fact that the company has been successful in negotiating deals with mobile companies, such as LG, Samsung, and Toshiba, should say something about their reputation.
The rumors are saying that if Deezer hopes to have a strong launch in the US, they would need to team up with a strong company with reach, and Microsoft is one of those companies. In fact teaming up with Microsoft could make sense as it would allow Deezer to possibly integrate into Microsoft’s products, such as the Windows platform (maybe even Windows Phone?) and even the Xbox platform. This will allow Deezer to compete with the likes of Spotify while providing Microsoft with a streaming music service of their own without having to start from scratch. This rumor is particularly interesting, especially since we have also heard that Microsoft could be interested in Winamp and SHOUTcast as well, another media platform albeit not exactly the same as Deezer.
What do you guys make of this? Does this sound like a good idea for Microsoft and Deezer?