Spotify Hits 60 Million Paid Subscribers Ahead of Going Public

[burgman]

Nevermind. Went back and reread your comment, but can't tell what side of the fence you are on...

Sorry, the side that thinks blind fanatics of any for profit company makes no sense and seems to be pretty immature.
For me Google Music is the best deal with YouTube Red included. All services have basically the same music so unless one's tastes are only covered by one or the other just pick one.

 

[kto1243]

Simple - Apple pays the musicians, Spotify does not (and is involved in a number of ongoing lawsuits). Google David Lowery (lead man in Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, and a prof at University of Georgia, Athens) and read his Trichordist blog. If you like music, make sure the musicians who worked much harder than you know get paid. Cracker had 4 #1 hits and get millions of spins on Spotify, for which the receive little or nothing.

 

[MarkB786]

Great for them. Us Apple fanboys need Spotify as competition more than ever with Eddy Cue still at large.

Our family loves Spotify. Apple music not so much. Just too clunky, and we do not at all like the live radio station. I even prefer Amazon Music over Apple.

 

[AppleWarMachine]

I just want a spotify app for my Apple Watch!

 

[charlesdayton]

Welcome to the concept of streaming music. Now that you've tried your first service, try Google Play or Spotify.

I did and like Apple music much better. Was a Google music user for quite a while.
I can't even remember the last time I purchased a download or CD.

My favorite feature of Apple Music is the integration on the Apple ecosystem.

By the way my original post was a reference to someone saying the same about Spotify. I feel the same way about Apple music. Been on it for 1 month and already cancelled my Google music subscription.

 

[WRChris]

Our family loves Spotify. Apple music not so much. Just too clunky, and we do not at all like the live radio station. I even prefer Amazon Music over Apple.

It's clunky, that's true. They are trying to do way too much on one page. Having said that, once you get through the genres you aren't interested in, there are good playlists and good radio stations, but you have to dig around. It should be a more personalized experience no doubt.

I won't switch because my entire library is in Apple Music. I can see the grass is greener in spots

 

[BrandonHacks]

I have all Apple products except the Apple Tv. I dont have any reason for an Apple tv and my smart tv has Spotify integrated so that will keep me as a subscriber.

 

[WRChris]

I'm not sure that Apple adding those great quality TV shows is a decidier when choosing to subscribe to either AM or Spotify

Haha no. If anything those shows deter people from the service.

 

[Glideslope]

No IPO to be offered.

Thanks.

 

[deany]

Spotify need to get into Unlimited movies before the IPO, or at least make tracks in that direction...
Stream any film ever made for £10.00 a month or £15.00 with the Music combo.
Also tap into markets like India and Chiina.

 

[Solomani]

And Snapchat thought it would slay everyone on the eve of its IPO..... lol

Becoming a publicly traded company tends to ruin many promising upstarts

 

[Michael Scrip]

Spotify need to get into Unlimited movies before the IPO, or at least make tracks in that direction...
Stream any film ever made for £10.00 a month or £15.00 with the Music combo.
Also tap into markets like India and Chiina.

Spotify isn't profitable because they already spend more money than they make on music royalties.

And you want them to get tied up in movie royalties?

 

[Asarien]

Our family loves Spotify. Apple music not so much. Just too clunky, and we do not at all like the live radio station. I even prefer Amazon Music over Apple.

My point exactly, and I'm an Apple Music subscriber.

 

[BFskinnerPunk]

Google Music is great AND includes YouTube "Red"...no commercials and easy to download videos for offline watching/listening.

My point exactly, and I'm an Apple Music subscriber.

 

[BigJohno]

I gave Itunes music a shot for the 3 month trial. Didn't like the music discovery and the weekly mix's it gave me were awful. I prefer Spotify, much better in both discovery and community playlist selection. My only gripe with Spotify is the UI but that has been discussed to death and they still don't want to change it. Rdio was much nicer.

Ps if you have a capitol one credit card you get a discount for a year. My premium subscription is only 5.99 I think.

 

[deany]

Spotify isn't profitable because they already spend more money than they make on music royalties.

And you want them to get tied up in movie royalties?

I'm no expert in running or investing in a Dot Com business, but amazon a company I've followed and admired since '96 who started in '95 took 6 years to make a profit - 2001.

If you and I invested £1000 in amazon at IPO stage I don't think we would be too now!

 

[Macaholic868]

In 2 years Apple has half the users? I'd be pretty worried if I was Spotify...I don't think podcasts are going to help much either.

I don’t think Spotify has much too worry about unless Apple starts charging less per month than Spotify or if Apple ever releases a free ad supported tier.

I don’t use either service but for those who have used both recently what does Apple Music do better than Spotify? That’s a serious question because my friends who do pay for a music streaming service have all remained on Spotify. Sometimes people ask for my opinion (I work in IT for a living) and I honestly don’t know.

Based on everything I’ve read over the years it almost seems like a better option for those who already have a large collection of music you’ve bought in iTunes it’s better to use Spotify than to try Apple Music, run into a bug, and have it FUBAR your existing collection.

 

[star_nerdy]

I don't see a long term future. They don't really create their own content, they just have exclusives for a short period of time.

They have a ton of competition ranging from Amazon to Pandora to Apple to Google to Microsoft and others.

And they've never turned a profit and don't have a path towards profit unless others leave the market.

Spotify is running on borrowed times

 

[WRChris]

I don’t think Spotify has much to worry about unless Apple starts charging less per month then they do or if Apple ever releases a free ad supported tier.

I’ve never used either service and probably never will (I was 17 when MP3s and Napster became a thing and had already spent hundreds, more likely thousands, on my collection which I promptly ripped and rarely buy more than one or tracks in a month

This is about paying subscribers at the current price point. In which Apple has gained almost half the users in a fraction of the time. I would worry if I were Spotify.

I also have a huge library in Apple Music that I have ripped and acquired over the last 15 years. I still listen to new stuff and I no longer purchase music. The subscription equates to me buying one album a month, so to me, it's worth it.

 

[deany]

This is about paying subscribers at the current price point. In which Apple has gained almost half the users in a fraction of the time. I would worry if I were Spotify.

I also have a huge library in Apple Music that I have ripped and acquired over the last 15 years. I still listen to new stuff and I no longer purchase music. The subscription equates to me buying one album a month, so to me, it's worth it.

What would worry me most as a Spotify investor is:

• their Debt, overdraft
• the amount of competition
• reliance on the likes of Amazon for 'allowing' Spotify on their Alexa platform

I see music streaming and home voice activated devices to be the future.

All Amazon, Google need to do is 'pull the plug' on their home devices allowed list and Spotify will be caught with their trousers down.

I won't be investing, but good on Spotify for disrupting the market in a positive way.

On a side note I also find Spotify's reliance on the iOS and android 'app' worrisome, either could 'pull the plug' there also.

 

[Tech198]

looks like Spotify is doing good..

 

[WRChris]

What would worry me most as a Spotify investor is:

• their Debt, overdraft
• the amount of competition
• reliance on the likes of Amazon for 'allowing' Spotify on their Alexa platform

I see music streaming and home voice activated devices to be the future.

All Amazon, Google need to do is 'pull the plug' on their home devices allowed list and Spotify will be caught with their trousers down.

I won't be investing, but good on Spotify for disrupting the market in a positive way.

Yep, pretty much sums it up.

 

[stanman64]

I love Spotify so much more than Apple Music which i got 6 months for free through my provider.

Their playlists are so much better and the categories to choose from actually make sense unlike AM which just seems random and cluttered with way too much scrolling involved.

Plus i love how you can pick up the music on one device but play it on another remotely and of course they got a browser based version for work too!

It would be a pity for only Apple to survive. Competition is good. Imagine what Apple would charge if they had their way

I love Spotify too, and competition is great for everyone.


If Spotify dies, its back to pirating music for me. Which is more effort and more risk for me, but ultimately the real loser is the music industry.

 

[hotgril]

I've used Apple Music a lot over 3 months and haven't used Spotify much, but it looks much better than Apple Music except for its limited selection of music. Apple could have made their interface much nicer, but they didn't.

 

[Rigby]

In 2 years Apple has half the users? I'd be pretty worried if I was Spotify...I don't think podcasts are going to help much either.

So far it doesn't look like Apple Music will ever catch up to them. On the contrary, Spotify is growing a bit faster:

From: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-music-vs-spotify-subscribers-chart-2017-6