Tech

Beats sets a Super Bowl push to nail Spotify

Jimmy Iovine’s Beats Music is about to make some noise.

The digital subscription music service is unleashing a huge marketing campaign aimed at squashing Spotify, the subscription music-streaming leader, according to several industry sources.

At the center of Beats offensive are a host of Super Bowl spots featuring new artists, sources told The Post.

Super Bowl commercials cost in the region of $4 million per thirty seconds, giving some idea of the depth of Beats’ marketing war chest. Iovine’s outfit also is making big ad buys in other media, sources said.

Beats Music is expected to launch before the Grammys on Jan. 26. Beats had no comment.

The coming-out party comes at a crucial time in the music-streaming business. Initially used by music lovers as a free, ad-supported service akin to broadcast radio, streaming is now viewed by a growing number of mobile-connected consumers as a legitimate alternative to paying for digital downloads.

In fact, streaming is the reason, many believe, that digital downloads of music fell for the first time ever in 2013.

The battle now among contenders Pandora, Spotify, Rdio and, in the coming weeks, Beats, is to discover ways to stand out from the competition.

Toward that end, Beats secured the backing of wireless powerhouse AT&T, industry insiders said.

“Finally, AT&T is going to do this,” said a senior music source. “It’s going to be bundled,” meaning fees for the service will come as part of a phone bill add-on.

Beats Music — which was built on the foundation of an earlier subscription service MOG — is run by the 60-year-old Iovine, the chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, and Ian Rogers, a former chief of Yahoo! Music. It is aiming to differentiate itself by using a staff who hail from the mainstream radio world.

“They’re going to try to blow Spotify [and its 6 million subscribers] out of the water,” said a source familiar with plans.

Beats is funded by a group including affiliates of Lee Bass, Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, Marc Rowan and James Packer. The group poured $60 million into the service in March 2013.

Beats Music won’t be the only new game in town, however. Both Google’s YouTube and France’s Deezer, which also has backing from Warner Music Group owner Blavatnik, are headed to the US this year.

Meanwhile, Spotify recently broadened its potential customer base by rolling out a free mobile app and, sources said, is in talks with Verizon about a possible partnership.

Spotify already has a US marketing partnership with Sprint and has a direct billing relationship with AT&T and T-Mobile that enables customers to roll the added $10 a month service fee into their phone bill.

Rdio meanwhile took a slightly different path, becoming Cumulus Radio’s online music partner, after Cumulus took a stake in its parent company, Pulser Media, in September.