Samsung buys US cloud music and movies provider mSpot

In a move showing Samsung's ambition to move from a purely hardware company to a supplier of end-to-end solutions, the Korean giant has bought cloud-based content provider mSpot.

By taking over the Palo Alto, California company, Samsung becomes a supplier of music and video services not just to consumers, but also to the major US mobile carriers.

In a statement, Samsung said it will acquire the entire resources of mSpot, "including technologies, assets, and human resources".

The takeover will allow Samsung to further develop its entertainment services for mobile devices, using cloud-based streaming to deliver music, video and radio.

Kang Tae-jin, Senior Vice President of Samsung's Media Solutions Centre says that "The takeover will ultimately help Samsung introduce Korea’s prominent contents to the global market", but the content offered by mSpot includes major movies and music releases.

mSpot offers 'white label' streaming and download services, which the carriers then rebrand as under their own names: at the moment it serves leading US mobile carriers Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, meaning it reaches over 6m customers.

Andrew has written about audio and video products for the past 20+ years, and been a consumer journalist for more than 30 years, starting his career on camera magazines. Andrew has contributed to titles including What Hi-Fi?, GramophoneJazzwise and Hi-Fi CriticHi-Fi News & Record Review and Hi-Fi Choice. I’ve also written for a number of non-specialist and overseas magazines.