This time last year, Deezer looked to be in a pretty rocky place.
The Spotify rival actually manage to lose total monthly subscribers in the first half of 2015, down to 6.3m – of which it categorised just 3.8m as ‘revenue-generating’.
Plus, from 2012 to the end of the first half of 2015, the Spotify rival posted €87m ($100m) in net losses.
So far, though, 2016 has made the company’s longevity look a much surer bet – largely thanks to two companies in particular.
First came the news in January that Orange and Access Industries had jointly pumped a further €100m ($109m) into the business.
Then, earlier this month, we learned that Access – by virtue of its investment earlier in the year – had become the majority shareholder in the French platform.
Now Orange has confirmed that its is to remain the exclusive Telco partner of Deezer in France for the next two years, into summer 2018.
“The success of deezer bundles with oragnce proves their is a demand from our customers to subscribe to pay-music offers.”
Christian Bombrun, Orange
How important is this deal?
Well, it should keep Deezer as the market leader in France for the forseeable.
Spotify would have loved to have snared the Orange contract, which expired at the end of July, for exactly that reason.
In the first half of 2015, Deezer’s deal with Orange contributed 24% of its revenue, according to financial papers revealed last year.
Back in 2012, the relationship actually delivered 56% of Deezer’s global sales.
Orange will now continue to offer a Deezer bundle to its customers, and seek to add other premium content including TV, news and video games.
Alexis de Gemini, Director General Deezer France, commented: “We are delighted to extend this strategic agreement with Orange [which originated] in 2010.
“For two years, we [will] work hand in hand with Orange France teams to create a new distribution strategy for our premium offerings.
“This partnership reinforces [Deezer’s relationship with Orange], which remains a major shareholder. “
Christian Bombrun, Director of Entertainment and New Uses at Orange France, added: “The success of Deezer [bundles] distributed by Orange proves that there is a demand from our customers to subscribe to pay-music offers.”
[Quotes translated].Music Business Worldwide
