In a society full of new technological advances, companies often look to provide the best new product. Back in the 1980's, people invented cd players, which was followed and dominated by iTunes after 2001. Now there is a new, up and coming music provider called Spotify, a commercial music streaming service that offers users unlimited access to its online library on multiple devices. The list of artists, songs, and albums the online service provides seems bottomless. With twenty four million active users—six million paying full price—and over twenty thousand songs being added every day to the already twenty million available, the future of the company looks bright. Even though Apple is clearly the dominating music provider today, Spotify has potential to take over the industry with its revolutionary features that are more appealing to a wider range of people.

In the past, music providers made customers pay per purchase instead of a monthly charge. On iTunes, you have to buy songs and albums for their respective valued price, in addition to an apple product to play the things you purchase. Or you could really go old school and buy a compact disk at a store or online. Spotify provides users with all the music it has to offer for one price. The set price is more appealing to customers because they know what they are going to get: almost any song one would ever want.

There is also a free version of Spotify that limits access on mobile devices. This option invites more people to try the service, many of which will later choose to pay for premium. (It took me five minutes to realize that premium was worth the money and I upgraded immediately) Spotify continues to expand their customer base with features like this because it attracts listeners to see how superior their service is.

With such a huge library, people are exposed to more music. Because there are always related artists being suggested to customers, it’s easier for people to find songs they like and explore deeper into their favorite artists’ music. Similar to the genius bar on iTunes, Spotify is also able to suggest songs and artists to its users based on music you previously listened to. The simplicity of finding new music makes using Spotify more addicting. It’s satisfying to discover songs that you have never heard before on your own, and this encourages more people to use Spotify and use it more regularly.

What really sets Spotify apart from other music websites, apps, or programs is its social media capabilities. When you create your spotify account, all you have to do is type in the song, artist, or album you want to hear to find and listen to music. Users are given the capability to make playlists with the songs they find or look up on Spotify. There are currently over 1.5 billion playlists created by Spotify users. These can then be shared for anyone to observe. Similar to Instagram or Facebook, users can follow their friends or favorite artists. Spotify is allowing customers “to play with, remix and distribute” music, then discard it when “the next musical bauble comes along.” Playlists can be shared and compared between friends at any time online. Social media features promote more frequent use of the app.

Spotify is useful because it creates a network where people connect on music and their playlists without being in the same room. When surveying thirty of my close friends, I found that a little over seventy five percent of them prefered spotify to iTunes. Many of them said that the ability to search for any song using their iPhone and being able to share playlists online was much more appealing and convenient than buying songs and downloading them to a personal device.

Each Spotify user has a profile page that shows playlists and songs people have been listening to. Just like Facebook, there is a profile picture and a news feed to keep people hooked into the service. These are more examples of social media trends that Spotify capitalizes on. Spotify makes it easy for people to personalize their accounts and accurately reflect their music tastes.

Spotify is also able to support musicians by paying them for the rights to their music. According to “Digital Music Nation,” written by Geoff Taylor, around 239 million tracks were downloaded illegally between January and June in 2012. Musicians are not seeing any money for making the songs because its so easy to steal them off the internet. However, Spotify can legally deliver music to customers for an appropriate cost.

Since Spotify also generates income from advertising, they are able to pay the rightful owners of the music the money they deserve. This promises growth for the company in two ways. First, musicians are more likely to grant Spotify access to their music in the future, meaning Spotify’s already impressive library will continue to get deeper. By paying musicians handsomely, Spotify continues to create a strong business alliance with musicians that will help them maintain their current licenses. According to Daniel Ek, the CEO and co-founder of Spotify, “The more music that gets shared the more money goes back to the artists.” Second, many customers are attracted to the idea that they can get music legally, knowing where the money is going.

Spotify has promised growth and success because of the features it offers and the wide range of people it attracts and supports. The service will continue to change the way people listen to music as it steals more customers from iTunes. The industry will never be the same because of the revolutionary business strategies Spotify is implementing. Spotify legally attracts customers and allows them to share and interact with one another all for a set price, foreshadowing their success as a music sharing service.

Bibliography

“Information.” Spotify Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.

Karp, Hannah. “Spotify to Introduce Free Mobile Music Service.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.

Kot, Greg. “Music Is More Mobile than Ever, but Convenience Comes at a Price.”Chicago Tribune. N.p., 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.

Rusli, Evelyn M., and Michael J. De La Merced. “Spotify’s Financing Is Said to Lift Value to $4 Billion.” Deal Book. The New York Times, 17 May 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.

Saba, Jennifer. “Spotify Gains More Listeners and Metallica.” Chicago Tribune. N.p., 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.

Taylor, Geoff. “Digital Music Nation.” The British Recorded Music Industry (2013): 4. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.