Spotify to Launch in Japan

After more than a year of hinting, Spotify is finally coming to Japan this month. The Swedish music streaming service will go live in the country before the end of September, a source at the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

The Nikkei earlier this summer reported that the launch was imminent. The publication, one of Japan’s leading business publications, said that Spotify Premium would cost around 1,000 yen (close to $10) per month, and that’s the same price range we have heard.

This launch in Japan, the planet’s second largest music market based on sales, has been a long time coming for Spotify, which recently passed 40 million paying customers. Last October — yes, nearly one year ago — we reported that the company was increasing its focus on Asia with plans to land in Indonesia and Japan. That Indonesia expansion happened in March of this year, and Spotify has been focused on bringing its service online in Japan since then.