Paris-based international music subscription service Deezer will close its Australian office. Thomas Heymann, who ran that office, will leave the company. Heymann oversaw Deezer’s Australian launch in 2012.
Deezer’s Australian service will continue, undisturbed by the structural change, managed from Paris. Pandora and iTunes Radio also serve music listening in Australia.
Last week Deezer reportedly hired a U.S. chief for its SanFrancisco office, another in a long string of signals that Deezer will extend its service to the American market. In Europe and elsewhere, Deezer and Spotify compete head-to-head. Spotify opened U.S. operations in 2011 after launching in Sweden in 2008. Deezer is said to be seeking a telecom deal before entering the U.S. fray — much as Beats Music did with AT&T preceding its January launch.