Billionaire John Paul DeJoria takes on Apple's Beats and Spotify with ROK Mobile
Hyper successful entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria is now leaping into the hyper competitive world of streaming music with ROK Mobile. The billionaire is well known as the co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron tequila. He sat down with Yahoo Finance to talk about what was behind ROK when he came up with it two years ago.
ROK Mobile is offering unlimited text, talk and data but with a twist -- free music streaming. ROK has already set up deals with major music companies such as Warner Music, Sony and Universal, gaining access to more than 20 million songs. The price for the whole package: $49.99 a month with no contract.
ROK Mobile launched its app on July 4. DeJoria wouldn’t give us the numbers on how many subscribers have signed up but the service is now available with two mobile operators: T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S). He confirms a third carrier is in the works.
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It’s a tough world out there in the music streaming business. Beats Music and Spotify are going head to head. But DeJoria is confident ROK has what it takes to differentiate itself from the competition.
“I believe nobody else has [the streaming]," he says. "It goes to all your devices."
If a user wants to try out the app, ROK offers a 14-day trial on all the music. No phone calls, but the music is available.
DeJoria is a serial entrepreneur. He started out in 1980 with $700 to his name, selling shampoo door-to-door out of his car. Today Paul Mitchell Systems makes roughly $900 million in annual revenue. If there is someone who has his pulse on the economy, it's DeJoria. He says there is a direct relation between salon traffic and consumer finances. And now his clients are seeing a pick up in business after a slowdown.
DeJoria also said 4% of all gross from ROK Mobile will go to charities he supports.
Milanee Kapadia is a Yahoo Contributor. You can reach out to her on Twitter @MilaneeKapadia.
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