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Business News Digital
Spotify might be considering having another go at a Russian launch
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 11 July 2016
Spotify is possibly considering a second go at the Russian market, according to Moscow-based business newspaper Vedomosti. They better look up what the Russian is for “bloody Apple, what a bunch of anti-competitive bastards”. Anyone?
The streaming service previously plotted a launch into the Russian market in 2014, opening an office there and talking about going live in the country the following year. But then that office was closed and the launch called off.
No official announcement was ever made, though it was thought the slumping Russian economy and possibly new data protection laws – banning Russian user data from being stored outside the country – might have been behind that decision.
But label sources tell Vedomosti that talk is now back on about Spotify launching there, possibly motivated by recent growth in the local digital music market, despite challenges remaining in the wider economy.