Sonos may not have been on the show floor with all the other booths at CES 2012, but the company appears poised to continue a steady push into Canada that started in the fall. The Play:3 and Play:5 units have already launched in the Great White North, but it’s possible that the wide range of music services and access currently available will only grow wider.
If you’ve used either product, then you know that it not only aggregates music from your iTunes, computer hard drive and network drive, but also allows for streaming Internet radio, terrestrial radio and services like Rdio, MOG, Slacker and more. Napster’s demise left a hole that the company is looking to fill as quickly as possible. But who has the library to cover the loss? Sony’s Music Unlimited service has 12 million songs, but it’s not in Canada yet, and there’s no guarantee Sony would license it out anyway.
The Zune Music Store might not fit, either. Something will happen with this at some point this year, but even without a Napster replacement, Canadians might be able to look forward to more music options.
It’s bad enough that we don’t get Spotify in Canada, but SiriusXM doesn’t work on the Play:3 or Play:5 here either. The reason why is because SiriusXM Canada operates independently of the parent company in the U.S. Though there’s no confirmation that a deal is imminent, it’s likely that this will get settled this year.
Grooveshark is another omission on the two devices, and a deal with the popular streaming player could be in the works too. Again, nothing has been confirmed, but it wasn’t denied either.
As for new hardware, Sonos didn’t show anything, but there may be something coming down the pipe later this year. For the moment, it seems the focus is on software and improving the overall experience of not just listening to music, but music discovery as well.
All of this is part of a strategy that will see the company be more aggressive in the Canadian market by finalizing deals. Expect more announcements on this in the coming months.
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