Vodacom in stream deal

Vodacom has agreed to a partnership with Deezer to offer music-streaming services.

Vodacom will give free access to Deezer's premium service for a limited period and then charge R59.99 a month, the company said yesterday.

"The trend is away from ownership towards access," Vodacom's chief commercial officer, Phil Patel, said.

The cellular network operator had held talks with Spotify, the main global competitor to Deezer.

The agreement gives closely held Deezer access to more than 32million Vodacom customers in South Africa, a boon to the French company as it competes with streaming services such as Sweden's Spotify and the US's Pandora.