There are rumours that the service would be available in Belgium from this summer, but according to sources close to the company it has decided to target other European markets first.
Spotify says that the Belgian market is too small for a start up operation at the moment and there is also a problem of having to offer services in at least two languages.
At present Spotify is gearing up for its launch in the United States, the largest market in the world for streaming services.
Sabam, the Belgian copyright association, is reportedly saddened by the postponement. According to Sabam Belgians abroad can buy a subscription to Spotify but Belgian artists are losing out as the company’s allocation formula is calculated by the amount of radio playtime an artist receives in each country the service operates in. Belgian artists are not very popular on other radio stations and they therefore, say Sabam, do not receive as much compensation as they could if the service operated here.
