We have covered music streaming sites quite a fair bit here at Vulcan Post. Every now and then, major music streaming companies such as Spotify and Deezer would have some new announcements. Especially recently, Deezer has partnered with Jetstar to offer premium online music streaming accounts to travellers.
Every now and then too, a new player pops up under our radar. Since we wrote about Korea’s music streaming service Swizzle, which has set their eyes on Singapore, Australia based Guvera is apparently also looking into the Singapore market. It is currently actively advertising its service through Facebook to potential users in Singapore.
Other than Singapore, according to a press release, Guvera is officially now available in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Darren Herft, CEO at Guvera, said, “We want to provide users with an unparalleled music experience through Guvera. It’s a simple and effortless way for people to enjoy their music, and all they have to do is hit play. We also want to support local artists in this region so Guvera is programmed globally but tuned locally, which helps users discover and connect with the music that matters most to them.”
Unlike Swizzle, Guvera has been in the market for a few years. Founded back in 2008 and officially launched in 2010, Guvera is an online music download and streaming service which allows users to stream music legally. Guvera has agreements with the music labels in the regions and is largely focusing on users in Australia, Indonesia and the United States.
Users can stream musics according to their genres, create playlists and share them with their friends. Guvera is pretty much ad supported too, with option to opt for the platinum non-ad version.
While other music streaming sites such as Spotify and Deezer focus a lot on music discovery, according to a report on Universal Music, Guvera markets itself as an advertising platform rather than a music platform, its technology makes it possible for advertisers to target broad or very specific consumer groups, showcasing particular aspects of a brand’s personality with relevant music genres in their branded music channels. Earlier in March too, Guvera announced their worldwide partnership with Lenovo, which sees Guvera’s service pre-installed onto Lenovo mobile devices.
Are There Space For More Music Streaming Sites?
Guvera, which was launched in 2010, hit the 800,000 member mark in May this year. It seems to be targetting a lot on users in Australia and Indonesia.
Indonesia is not an easy market to crack, as Piracy is apparently a very big issue in the largest country in Southeast Asia. Of course, there are other players too: Spotify, Indonesia’s local music streaming site Ohdio, Grooveshark, Pandora, Rdio and many more.
For other Southeast Asia markets, Spotify and Deezer has also been actively partnering with telcos in the various countries for distribution deals, leaving little room for Guvera to maneuver with.
Too little too late?