WiMP comes to Sweden – not afraid to step on Spotify's toes

WiMPWiMP, the music streaming service owned by Aspiro, is bedding down in Scandinavia. Already available in Norway and Denmark, it’s “finally” coming to Sweden, once again via a distribution partnership with teclo Telenor.

Sweden, of course, is the birthplace of competitor Spotify and telco agreements are seen as the future for cloud-based music services. So despite its unfortunate name, WiMP hasn’t wimped out of taking the fight to Spotify head on.

Once it goes live, the tie-in with Telenor will include carrier billing along with a significant marketing play (“distribution, marketing and pre-installation of WiMP in future phones”). There is a try before you buy offer – 60 days free – after which it costs 99 kronor a month. And having the app (currently Android and iPhone) on-deck or pre-installed on Telenor sold mobile phones should obviously help increase exposure. That said, Swedish users don’t need to be a Telenor customer, WiMP (currently in closed Beta) will also be available direct but only with a 30 day free trial.

Aspiro says that WiMP differentiates itself from other music streaming services through its strong editorial profile, with local editors selecting and recommending songs, albums, artists, “and creating fun and relevant playlists”. WiMP also collaborates with artists offering special editions and tracks exclusively – as does Spotify.

Aside from WiMP, Nasdaq Nordic Exchange-listed Aspiro is better known as a white label provider of music and video services. Its partners worldwide include Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica O2, Telenor, 3, TeliaSonera, Tele2, the BBC, Aftonbladet, mBlox, TVNorge, Entel and VG. Aspiro is listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm.