Would-be iTunes Store killer SpiralFrog goes extinct
The ad-supported music Web site SpiralFrog went dark Friday just short of 18 months after it launched with the goal of luring customers from pirate sites.
The music was free, but only as long as the customer maintained a subscription. Songs could not be burned to a CD. SpiralFrog-obtained music is expected to stop playing for current customers within 60 days.
Although many in the media at the time SpiralFrog launched suggested it could grow into an “iTunes Store killer,” I disagreed. I predicted SpiralFrog would fail with a year because of its many drawbacks, not the least of which was incompatibility with Apple’s market-dominating iPod.
SpiralFrog employed Microsoft’s PlaysForSure digital rights management, limiting the service to WMA-compatible MP3 players only. That excluded Microsoft’s own Zune as well as the iPod.
Customers also had to renew their subscription every 60 days or lose access to their music. And SpiralFrog could only get two of the four major labels on board (Universal and EMI), which restricted the breadth of its catalog.
Changes in the competitive landscape since SpiralFrog’s Sept. 2007 launch further destabilized its business model. Within a few months Amazon was selling DRM-free MP3s. The iTunes Store went completely DRM-free this past January.
According to a story on CNET, the collapsing economy and the resulting shrinkage in advertising pushed the company over the brink. A heavy debt load didn’t help, either.
The demise of SpiralFrog, along with another ad-supported music Web site (Ruckus, which shut down Feb. 6), implies that particular model may just be unworkable.
Certainly such sites have never seriously threatened Apple’s iTunes Store, although I think they would have fared better had they been compatible with iPods.
How is it all those iPod killers, iTunes Store killers and iPhone killers never quite land that fatal blow?
Comments
I'm sure the collapsing economy played a big part in the failure of this company. Apple is sitting on a huge cash reserve and will outlast mostly any other company in tough economic conditions. SpiralFrog not supporting the iPod was a fatal move.
Posted by: Constable Odo | March 22, 2009 7:29 AM
Didn't the licensing fees for internet radio increase recently? That would increase costs directly with no way to increase revenue. Perhaps the record labels / RIAA wanted this particular business model to fail.
Posted by: Alan nash | March 22, 2009 6:45 PM
The only outstanding question is will [Spiral Frog CEO Joe] Mohen be held accountable for the money he wasted and the lives he ruined?
Posted by: robin kent | March 22, 2009 8:13 PM
Lack of advertising. I stumbled across the site by accident. Can't move forward if no-one knows you're there.
Posted by: Jackson | March 27, 2009 1:04 PM
I have been on spiral frog for a long time and recently got an ipod. I had no trouble copying the music to it. Maybe the problem is restricted to a few copywrite protected products, but mine worked fine. I will miss spiral frog.
Posted by: Kathleen Donaghy | March 28, 2009 11:12 AM
SpiralFrog — just another flattened carcass on the iTunes multi-lane highway.
Posted by: Neil Anderson | March 28, 2009 1:05 PM