Where Spotify Should Go From Here

I remember the day I heard of Spotify for the first time. It was on a warm summer day in July 2009. My brother-in-law had mentioned to me a brand new music service only available in Sweden and Norway that would let you stream for free all the music you wanted, from any artist. The premise sounded down-right incredible, if only impossible.

Back in 2009, acquiring music was pretty straight-forward: go to a store (physical or digital) and buy a track or an album OR find a website that’ll let you download MP3’s for free. Apple had just made its MP3 DRM-free earlier in the year, but accessing and consuming music was still requiring users to go through plugging mobiles devices to computers and transfering files. And that dance would have to be danced every time someone wanted to add music to an MP3 player or computer.

Find music. Purchase it (or not). Download it. Transfer it. Repeat.

Comes Spotify.

As I was leaving in France, the website would not let me sign up to the service. Spotify was indeed restricting its service to Swedish and Norwegian users and trying to sign up anywhere else in the world would trigger a message saying Spotify was not yet available in that country. Luckily, in the early days, the budding startup didn’t put a lot of effort into trying to block the use of proxy or VPNs (which changed as the company became incredibly popular). It was then very easy to use these tools to fool Spotify into thinking users were based in Sweden or Norway, where in fact they were not. So after googling for the perfect proxy website that would let me pretend I was in Sweden, I finally became the lucky owner of a Spotify account. And boy did Spotify feel like magic. Beside Gmail, I don’t think I have ever recommended a service so strongly and with such passion than Spotify. All the music in the world was there for the listening. Only a key stroke away. I was binge-listening everything I could find. It was glorious. It was amazing… and it still is.

But it’s now 2016. Streaming content is a not a novelty anymore. Spotify has obviously become a huge player in the music industry but it cannot rely solely on its streaming rights if it wants to remain relevant as other streaming platforms have also risen to power. Having a massive catalogue of music (except a few major artists) will not sustain growth long term either and Spotify needs to offer new, differentiating services or products to stay relevant in an age where streamed content is becoming a norm.

So here are 3 suggestions of where Spotify should go from here.

Spotify should become a music social network

Fairly early on, Spotify added some social features, mostly leveraging on Facebook’s social graph. I could find my friends, follow their stream of “listens” and share music with them. But it has always felt too limiting and rigid, compared to Facebook or Twitter. Why can’t I like a song that a friend is listening (or add a reaction, since they seem to become the norm now), letting him know that I approve of his musical taste? Why can’t I comment on a playlist my work colleague has created for our Christmas party, suggesting to add a couple of Sinatra’s classics? Why can’t I chat with my friends inside Spotify, while listening to music? Why should listening to music be such a lonely experience? Spotify has made great improvements in figuring out what music to suggest depending on mood or time of the day but human interaction seems to be absent from Spotify’s roadmap and I think the social aspect of music is the next big step not only to find growth but to offer an experience that can finally be shared with friends in a way that makes sense in 2016, one that Spotify can own and shape at will, without depending on Facebook or Twitter.

Spotify should become the place where fans connect with their favorite artists

The music industry is still a fragmented place. Most artists have to sign with a record label, unless they want to go indie and publish their work directly online using websites such as SoundCloud or Bandcamp. But there is yet to be a place where all artists can connect with their fans, talk to them, share experiences with them. Some might say that Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and, to a certain extent, Apple Music offer such a platform for artists to reach out to their audience but none of these services are really tailored for music artists. Instagram is limited to photos (and short videos). Twitter is limited to 140 characters. Apple Music is a good attempt at creating a social network for artists but Apple hasn’t got a great track-record when it comes to social features. Facebook is a bit of a mix bag as it has a massive reach globally but it lacks the social appeal of Twitter or Instagram. Plus Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm would likely hide what artists will publish (and display ads instead). Spotify should offer artists to have a dedicated area on their profile page where they can publish news updates, photos taken during their latest tour, exclusive videos of their upcoming album, exclusive new songs, etc. which could then be shared by their followers. Users could also follow their favorite band and always be up-to-date about events and tour dates. Which leads me to my last suggestions…

Spotify should become a marketplace for artists worldwide

Music artists know that part of their income will be made through selling concert tickets and merchandising. Music sales have been declining and artists are forced to increase their tour dates to make up for the loss in album sales. Spotify should then become the marketplace where music artists sell their merchandise: T-shirts, vinyls, concert tickets, concert videos, branded products, even their own music! It should develop e-commerce tools to let bands create and customize their profile page, which should include an e-shop. Users could then not only follow their favorite artists but also buy their merchandising or tickets for their up-coming concert, right inside Spotify (Spotify already has the bank details of premium subscribers, which should make it easy to seamlessly purchase new items on the platform).

I believe Spotify has a bright future ahead. But it has to look beyond streaming to find user growth, especially in an age where streaming is becoming increasingly common. Apple, Google, Amazon and other big companies don’t need music streaming to remain profitable. They use it as a way to improve the collection of services and products they already offer their users. But Spotify has nothing else to offer. Streaming music is its bread and butter. And that’s the problem. It is at risk of being commoditized if it fails to find a way to find growth beyond its money-losing streaming platform. But by becoming a music platform in its own right where artists can connect with fans, share experiences and sell exclusive items, Spotify has a chance of becoming the new home of music lovers… like me.