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Spotify Continues to Grow Faster Than Apple Music Thanks to Free Tier
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Yeah it used to be much better. I don't remember when they transitioned to way more advertisements. 1.5, maybe 2 years ago? Probably when they realized the business was struggling hardcore. It's been a pretty annoying app experience since then. I jailbreak though so I have tweaks to get rid of the ads, and unlimited skips.
I watch Rdio grow and die. I understand it was very popular with its users. I used both, and found Rdio's UX to be tasteful and straightforward, but it lacked common power features of Spotify. Sharing was worse, sound quality and responsiveness were worse, app integrations were worse, curation was worse (and curation in Spotify used to be BAD), playlist functionality was basic. In my opinion it died because though it did basic things very well, it didn't do enough to justify a high enough price compared with Spotify.
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Lol that is sort of nasty.
But UX is not UI.
UI is screenshots. UX is how you got there and how much control you have over things once you're there. This is a case where Apple has better UI (arguably) but far worse UX than Spotify.
In your case, you pressed the search button (which is always either on the screen or one click away on iPhone), typed "fran", clicked the autocomplete and BAM. You were done. I just did it over LTE, it took under seven seconds. With ten seconds I was playing "Take Me Out."
Try it on Apple Music. Time yourself. See how many times you mis-click or find yourself in some weird unrelated menu, or have to guess a direction to slide things in.
You assume that Spotify and Google are also paying nothing for the content which isn't the case. Your argument is like saying "I don't understand why artist continue to let radio stations air their songs for free to people".
That's both good and bad. But precisely why I like them. Their sole focus is music. They aren't distracted by other products, services or a bunch of hardware they have to refresh yearly. With Google and Amazon, music is a tacked on afterthought to their other services. With Apple it's a big part, but still competes with other goals and resources of the company focusing on everything from future cars to games in their App Store and everything in between.
Spotify can focus on the music like a laser. It's why despite some shortcomings, it's still the best streaming music service out there overall.
I don't use streaming services. But if I did I'd probably use Spotify cause it won't mess with my iTunes library like I've heard Apple Music does.
[doublepost=1497572021][/doublepost]Sorry, Spotify is bogus and has NEVER given accurate info about their users (they include cancelled subscriptions in their numbers which are astronomical). Ad Revenue totally dismal (only 3% of kids actually listen to ads), and actual "paying" customers (one's that actually give money) is somewhere in the 6.4% range (all young people-their demographic-listen free), and, of course, only 8% of Artists/Labels are receiving any due revenue (the rest are stiffed). All in all, a failed model, with over 750M losses (real) 2016 and escalating rights royalties (they have to pay Sony, etc for the right to distribute). NOW they want to go Public in order to rape the new stockholders??? But, yea, another puff piece on how "great" Spotify is. Bah ha ha...
Spotify today announced it now has over 140 million subscribers worldwide, including users that only listen to the free ad-supported tier.
Spotify last said it had over 100 million subscribers in June 2016, so it has gained around 40 million listeners in one year to remain the world's largest streaming music service. Spotify didn't update its number of paying subscribers, which stood at over 50 million worldwide as of March 2017.
By comparison, Apple at its Worldwide Developers Conference last week announced that Apple Music now has 27 million paying subscribers, just weeks before the streaming music service turns two years old. Apple Music doesn't have a free tier, and Apple doesn't regularly disclose how many users are using the free trial.
Last year, Spotify vice president Jonathan Forster said Apple Music has helped, not hurt, their business by raising the popularity of streaming music services overall. He added that, at the time, Spotify was growing more quickly and adding more users since Apple Music launched, a trend that appears to be continuing.
"It's great that Apple is in the game," Forster told Reuters. "They are definitely raising the profile of streaming. It is hard to build an industry on your own."
While many artists remain critical about Spotify's free ad-supported tier, longtime holdout Taylor Swift reversed course last week and made her catalog of music available on most streaming music services. Swift's music was previously exclusive to Apple Music, only after Apple agreed to pay artists during its free trial period.
Spotify's revenue grew more than 50 percent, to $3.3 billion last year, according to the company's latest financial statement. The company has committed to spending more than $2 billion in payments to record labels over the next two years.
Article Link: Spotify Continues to Grow Faster Than Apple Music Thanks to Free Tier
I don't like temporary files filling up my machine with junk data. Spotify says they fixed it but people say the fix doesn't work.
Apple Music wins it for me. Native integration with Apple TV and Apple Watch, plus a wider catalogue of songs that Spotify doesn't have.
Spotify is apparently rely heavily on promotions to inflate their subscriber numbers, possible in preparation to go public. Will be interesting to see if they can remain financially sustainable in the long term. Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Not to mention that the simple act of subscribing to Apple Music makes Apple that bit stronger and Spotify that bit weaker.
Spotify is apparently rely heavily on promotions to inflate their subscriber numbers, possible in preparation to go public. Will be interesting to see if they can remain financially sustainable in the long term. Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Not to mention that the simple act of subscribing to Apple Music makes Apple that bit stronger and Spotify that bit weaker.
I'd take the numbers with a big grain of salt. Why? Because I tried their free tier a year or two ago and deleted it after 1 day. Ads are just laughable. Then...
A month ago I got an offer for a three month premium service for 99c. I ignored it. Then last week I got a second offer for a 99c premium membership. I accepted this and paid by PayPal so as not to hand them my visa card details. I tried it for a day, didn't like the interface. But I will give it more of a go for the next 3 months because, why not? I can say now that 100% I will be cancelling after the 3 month trial because I just prefer the music I already have and Spotify do not have the range in the people I like. For example I luuuurve The Orb and I have everything by them, but Spotify only has a selection of studio albums.
The point I'm making is that Spotify are being super aggressive with the 99c premium promo and seeing as 99c is not free they would be able to claim me as a paying subscriber, but in reality I'm not and never will be.
A month ago I got an offer for a three month premium service for 99c. I ignored it. Then last week I got a second offer for a 99c premium membership. I accepted this and paid by PayPal so as not to hand them my visa card details. I tried it for a day, didn't like the interface. But I will give it more of a go for the next 3 months because, why not? I can say now that 100% I will be cancelling after the 3 month trial because I just prefer the music I already have and Spotify do not have the range in the people I like. For example I luuuurve The Orb and I have everything by them, but Spotify only has a selection of studio albums.
The point I'm making is that Spotify are being super aggressive with the 99c premium promo and seeing as 99c is not free they would be able to claim me as a paying subscriber, but in reality I'm not and never will be.
Cancel now. I did the 99 cent deal and then immediately cancelled. My subscription still expires in 3 months. This way you won't have to put it on a calendar to remind you to cancel. If I decide to keep it, I can just resubscribe.
Ha, yeah I did that with Apple so as not to get caught, I was going to do that with Spotify too but I'd rather cancel after the 3 month period, that way I can make their number crunchers think that I may possibly end up being a permanent subscriber, lead them on to thinking it's a good idea so they offer more 99c offers to more people. Cruel but fair.
When you subscribe to Apple Music, there is no free tier to still listen to your music, recommendations and playlists if you miss to pay your subscription. It makes you feel locked in to subscribe to Apple Music indefinitely unlike Spotify.
To be fair, millennials are expected to work for free (oh, excuse me, in "internships"). It's not surprising if that's a lesson they take away.
woohoo more free subscribers!
and then there is reality ...
"... [Spotify] revenue growth has slowed — last year, revenue increased 78 percent from the year before — and its losses are mounting. In 2016, Spotify’s net loss totaled about $600 million, up from about $257 million the year before. The company attributed this increase to the costs of servicing its debt — it raised $1 billion last year in convertible debt — and to the effects of foreign exchange rates.
Since the company began, the costs of paying record labels and others for licensing rights has been by far its biggest expense, and the more its users click, the more Spotify must pay. According to a company statement, royalty and distribution costs equaled nearly 85 percent of its revenue. Add in nearly $900 million in salaries, marketing, product development and other costs, and, once again, expenses far exceeded revenues.
When will it be profitable? ..."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/business/media/streaming-radio-spotify-pandora.html
and then there is reality ...
"... [Spotify] revenue growth has slowed — last year, revenue increased 78 percent from the year before — and its losses are mounting. In 2016, Spotify’s net loss totaled about $600 million, up from about $257 million the year before. The company attributed this increase to the costs of servicing its debt — it raised $1 billion last year in convertible debt — and to the effects of foreign exchange rates.
Since the company began, the costs of paying record labels and others for licensing rights has been by far its biggest expense, and the more its users click, the more Spotify must pay. According to a company statement, royalty and distribution costs equaled nearly 85 percent of its revenue. Add in nearly $900 million in salaries, marketing, product development and other costs, and, once again, expenses far exceeded revenues.
When will it be profitable? ..."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/business/media/streaming-radio-spotify-pandora.html
As Frank Zappa said on You Are What You Is. I want to be free, I got to be free, free is when you don't have to pay for nothing or do nothing. I got to be free, free as the wind.
Spotify's has a 5 buck revenue by actual paying subscriber (meaning most paid subscriptions are heavily discounted) and mounting continuing expenses with their free subscribers, which ever increasing royalty expenses as intensity of use increases. Even worse, Apple could offer much better royalties to artists just for kicks, still cover their costs, and put even more pressure on Spotify.
When FB grows subscribers, it only racks up infrastructure and some software dev and engineering costs, while Spotify has rapidly mounting royalty payments with no hopes of sufficient revenues from most of their slacker use base.
Also, Amazon's actually selling stuff huh, they're actually making money off those products and then investing money back; and even there, their PE ratio is properly insane (supposed to be the present value of profits with rate of return R) and shows most people owning that stock are purely gambling.
Learn to read financials and then come back when you grow up.
A little bit of advertising money in my pocket > no money in my pocket and losing customers to a competitor
And yet so many use it on a daily basis...... not bad for Spotify is doomed..... according to MR credible analysts reports, they have to be loosing billions daily...how do they keep operating?
"It's great that Apple is in the game," Forster told Reuters. "They are definitely raising the profile of streaming. It is hard to build an industry on your own."
This statement takes the cake for likely being the most irksome comment the folks at Apple read all day. Are Tim, Eddy and Jimmy Iovine all seething with rage after reading that? lol
Eddy to Tim: The balls those lyin' effers at Spotty have, imagine that.... they would like nothing better than for us to just go away..... hey Jimmy, go get us some more exclusives will ye, we'll show those Swedish meatballs who's running the show here.....
Disclaimer: No offense intended to our Swedish friends and their wonderful cuisine.... love the meatballs with Lingon berries at Ikea
This statement takes the cake for likely being the most irksome comment the folks at Apple read all day. Are Tim, Eddy and Jimmy Iovine all seething with rage after reading that? lol
Eddy to Tim: The balls those lyin' effers at Spotty have, imagine that.... they would like nothing better than for us to just go away..... hey Jimmy, go get us some more exclusives will ye, we'll show those Swedish meatballs who's running the show here.....
Disclaimer: No offense intended to our Swedish friends and their wonderful cuisine.... love the meatballs with Lingon berries at Ikea
You are right that music-streaming is getting commoditized, but that is explains why Spotify is prepared to giant losses in order to keep their users. I used Spotify for 6-7 years now and I have no intention to switch to another service since I have my playlist built up there, following people and artist I like etc, and $15 / month for 2 accounts is drop in the ocean.
I generate half of that monthly revenue, in a year 90$. With 50 million paying subscribers a price bump of 5% (50 cents/month/user) will generate them a 10% margin. When a service gets commoditized brand loyalty plays an important role, with majority of the users not interested in other options it is way more important to have a lot of users (even if some of them are non-paying) than being able to convert from competition.
I don't want to live in a world where I stop giving a company (any company) money and that results in me not being able to listen to music.
This is true. These days artists make their money performing at gigs. Sales from music is only a minor contribution.