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Spotify Sets Date For U.S. Debut

European music streaming service Spotify has finally set a date for its long-awaited U.S. debut -- sort of. Without providing more specifics, the "virtual jukebox" aims to establish U.S. operations in the third quarter of this year. Still, Spotify SVP Paul Brown tells Bloomberg that the company is still "in talks" with unidentified U.S. Internet and mobile-phone service providers about partnerships.

The company is also in discussions to start an application on Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and Palm Inc. smartphones, Brown said. The service, which debuted in 2008, now has 320,000 paying subscribers, and about 7 million users across countries like the U.K., Sweden and France. In Europe, Spotify offers free, ad-supported access to streaming songs. A premium version is available for around $15 a month, depending on the exchange rate of each country.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg »

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