Third Largest Music Service: SpiralFrog?

The ad-supported, Web-based music service SpiralFrog launched September 2007, promising to let users download major label music for free in exchange for viewing advertisements. SpiralFrog landed distribution deals with EMI, Universal, and Sony/ATV, and has been letting users donwload Windows Media-protected music files and transfer them to up to two PlaysForSure portable devices—as long as users remember to renew their membership every month and (of course) run Windows XP or Vista.

Industry analysts have been skeptical about whether SpiralFrog’s approach would be successful, but today the company is trumpeting itself as the third largest music download service in the U.S. and Canada, boasting some 850,000 registered users and more than two million unique site visitors in March 2008. According to SpiralFrog, that makes it the third largest legal music download site in the U.S. and Canada, behind only iTunes and Rhapsody.

“In a relatively short time SpiralFrog has gained a strong following among young music fans, especially those in the high school and college demographic,” said SpiralFrog founder and chairman Joe Mohen, in a release. “Their desire for a new way to experience and discover music without the risks associated with pirate sites, is helping to drive our growth. And the advertising community is recognizing the SpiralFrog platform as one that can deliver a message through the powerful medium of music.”

Mohen went on to forecast that by the end of 2008, SpiralFrog will be the second largest legal music download service, behind only iTunes, noting the company only needed six months to “catch up” to established music services. “We are still in the early stages of marketing SpiralFrog, but already we are in the same league as brands that have spent years and millions of dollars doing just that,” said Mohen.